


You

by waffles_1



Category: Women's Soccer RPF
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-12
Updated: 2018-02-02
Packaged: 2018-08-08 05:48:12
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 32
Words: 110,692
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7745578
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/waffles_1/pseuds/waffles_1
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ali is working her way through a new career path she never really imagined, oddly similar to her old one. Ashlyn is going through the motions, looking anywhere and everywhere for inspiration. One is consumed with finding her soulmate, the other doesn't even realize she needs one until it's right in front of her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. c'est la vie

\----- (Ali)

A quiet groan adds to the music blaring through the phone as she slowly rolls over to hit snooze.  Eyes still closed, the groan quickly turns into a sigh as she opens her eyes to stare at the ceiling above. It's always harder to get moving when it's cold out and there is definitely no motivation at 5am to go outside on that run. Unfortunately, she was blessed ( _cursed?_ ) with a personal drive buried deep inside so she sits up, feet hitting the comfy rug under the bed, a slow hand reaching over to completely switch the alarm off on the phone.

 

Begrudgingly, she gets up, changes into the warmest gear she has and walks into the bathroom to finish getting ready. The reflection in the mirror is one of easy beauty, even at this ungodly hour. She has never had to worry or be self-conscious of her looks, but isn't the type either that would ever admit to herself that she is drop-dead gorgeous.

 

Twenty minutes later, she is standing outside her brother's brownstone, blowing into her gloved hands when the door swings open, accompanied with a whiny "Alllleeeexxxxx, whhhyyyy". An effortless smile comes across her face followed with a chuckle when she see's the edges of his mouth slowly turn upward. "This was your idea, Kyle" she reminds him as they start their jog down the Rock Creek Park Trails, headed towards the Mall.

 

Going for a run with her brother a few times a week was something they both thought was a good idea, but she easily makes him take credit for it on days like this. She recently moved back to the area where she grew up after years of travel with her old career that detoured into a new career. Having recently worked her way up the ladder to be based in any location and travel to where she is needed, she wanted to physically be closer with her brother since she has missed so many of the little things over the years. In reality, the "ladder" wasn't nearly this arduous, never-ending rung of steps she slowly climbed, it was like a step stool with one or two steps needed to get to where she is today. One of those steps just happened to be the mental process of accepting the cards that were dealt to her.  Being honest with herself, moving forward with her head held high and proud of her accomplishments in her previously, well-planned out life she had in front of her.

 

After a fairly quick hour passed them by, they made plans to meet up for breakfast at a place around the corner from where they live. They both felt the need to go home first, warm up and wash away the evidence that they had already been more active then most people on an average day.

 

"I live two blocks from you and have yet to see your place now that you have finally gotten organized from the move. What are you hiding from me?" Kyle adds with a squinted eyes and a bit of that Krieger sass. Ali quickly adds "Tell me when that was supposed to happen since you got back yesterday after being out of town on a shoot for last the two weeks?", one upping him with an eye brow arched up, while taking a sip of her coffee. They fall into an easy conversation with Kyle updating her on the most recent photo shoot he did for GQ. 

They had flown him over to London to shoot the Spring fashion top picks that are set to come out in a few months. She is undeniably proud of him, overcoming addiction and finding a new passion to dive into, one that didn't include all-night parties, booze, needles, and men, not sure which one of those scared her the most. In the past six months, he has started to become an in-demand photographer and his traveling has increased ten fold. Not exactly what Ali had planned when she moved back to be closer to him but c'est la vie. It's not like she is around all that much either. As they are getting up to leave and go their separate ways, Kyle swallows Ali in a massive hug and expresses how happy is to have her close when asking "So, where are you packing to go to tomorrow?". Ali shrugs and simply answers "LA".

 

\----- (Ash)

 

A few blocks away, a not-so-similar morning plays out. A groan replaced with moan, a ceiling replaced with greenish eyes and a curtain of long, dark hair. While a scene like this used to play out far more often than you can count, you take it for what it's worth. Instead of being completely engulfed by the kissing working down your neck, you are thinking about the day, the shit that needs to be done, and how to get up the courage to finally bite the bullet and end this relationship that seems to be stuck in neutral. You secretly hope that she knows it’s the end of the road as well and that neither of you have had the guts to actually say it out loud. While it's been a little over a year, the passion that was the original basis of your relationship is fairly non-existent and the ease of conversation and relatability fell away a good three to six months ago.  When you think of why you haven't cut the cord, it's the thought of being alone that has stopped you. You HATE being alone, well, HATE the feeling of being alone. You have friends, lots of them, that will easily fill the empty space. What you don't have is someone to fill the void that's been missing all your life. Someone that you can talk to until the sun comes up, someone to love you so unconditionally you can't even breath, someone you can actually speak the three words that have eluded your tongue forever.

 

"Ash?"

 

You barely hear the quiet whisper of your name by your ear.

 

"Ash"

 

This time the whisper comes  a bit more forceful, accompanied by a little bite just below your ear.

 

"Yeah, sorry"  you quietly mumble, as you shift your body under the weight of your girlfriend. A quiet sigh breaks the silence as the literal weight on your shoulders shifts off of you, making the bed dip slightly to your left. You both turn your heads to face each other at the same time. While the room is still fairly dark, the sunlight is starting to filter in and you see a familiar, yet sad set of eyes staring back at you. You feel her warm, comforting hand on your cheek while she runs her thumb slowly up and down. Instinctively, your eyes close.  They open again, this time glistening slightly from the emotions you are doing everything in your power to choke down.

 

Everyone knows there are two, easy to recognize traits about you: one, you wear your heart on your sleeve and two, you always do everything in your power to never intentionally cause pain to someone, no matter how insignificant it could be. Maybe this comes from how much pain you have dealt with growing up, but it's an intrinsic value that you consider one of the pillars of your moral being.  You take a deep breath, working up the courage to speak, chalking up your current emotional state to the pain you are about to introduce into this quiet space. Your mind is racing, hoping, praying, that this isn't going to sound like it's coming out of the blue. She has got to be feeling the same right?

 

You feel a soft, gentle yet chaste kiss on your lips that again breaks you from the runaway train of your mind. As you are coming back to the moment, your ears and brain start to comprehend what's being spoken, quietly from the beautiful woman next to you.

 

"This isn't working anymore, is it"? You shake your head slowly, again, closing your eyes, a single tear seeping out of your eye, down your cheek into her hand that is still grounding you to this moment. You open your eyes again when she continues "I think we have both known for awhile…" she trails off while the words finally find the way out of your mouth. "I'm sorry, Rachel". You aren't really sure if you are the one to blame for the slow death of this casual, yet easy relationship, but you are willing to fall on the preverbal sword. This time, she is the one that closes her eyes momentarily while she removes her hand from your face. You instantly miss the warmth and comfort you had grown accustomed to but know this is the reality of the situation. This time it's you that leans forward, moving your fingers through her hair to the back of her neck as you slowly move into one final kiss. While still soft and gentle, this one definitely strays from chaste as you feel her tongue trace your lips as you open your mouth to welcome her into yours. The tips of your tongues hesitantly touch one another while you pull her head closer to yours. While a few soft moans fill the room, you both reach a natural end to the most passionate kiss you two have shared in quite some time with simple, yet telling smiles on both of your faces. Yes, that was amazing but doesn't fix or change anything that has already been decided.

 

You watch her get out of your bed, get dressed, and head into the bathroom before you start the process yourself. You sit on the edge of the bed, running your hands over your face, trying to fully comprehend the turn your life took between yesterday morning and this morning. By the time you are standing and have put on sweats and t-shirt, she is leaving the bathroom with a few things in her hands. Neither of you brought much to each other's place, maybe subconsciously knowing this would never be anything long term. You both slowly walk through the rest of your apartment toward the door, awkwardly as you would expect. She puts her hand on the door knob to leave but stops and turns to you, "For what it's worth, I think you are an amazing woman and will make someone very happy one day". A grateful, but sad smile comes across your face as you echo her sentiments "you too, Rach". You embrace in a hug and make a promise to catch up soon, not really sure if those are just empty words. As quickly as she breezed into your life that Fall DC day, she disappears behind the closed door on this cold January morning.

 

You mumble to yourself while you head into the kitchen to make some coffee, "I never thought I would be this happy to be going to LA".

 


	2. Apparently Not

\----- (Ali)

When she gets home from breakfast with her brother, she tries to focus on the task ahead of her. Previously, when she was headed to a camp, she could fit everything into a carry-on seeing how 90% of what she wore the entire time was provided. This time, not so much. Being her overly OCD self, she starts making a list of anything she could possibly need. Thirty minutes later, she had written down enough items to fill two large suitcases. She throws her phone down next to her on the couch and just falls back into it, not meaning too, but falling into a peaceful slumber.

 

\----- (Ash)

 

You finally motivate yourself from the barstool in the kitchen to shower and go grab some lunch with friends. Yes, you should be packing, but when have you not procrastinated to the very last minute. Plus, you aren't leaving until tomorrow morning, you definitely have time. You walk into Pizzeria Paradiso over in Dupont Circle after a more than annoying journey over. 

The 'more annoying' part was you replaying the morning over and over again in your head. You sit there feeling at peace that it ended before you are going to be gone for the week. Not that you ever felt the need to check-in while you were gone, you just thought that's what you are supposed to do. It felt freeing in a way to not really have to worry about time changes, schedules, and just the obligation to make the effort. This is when you wonder, does everyone feel like that? Shouldn't you want to check-in with your partner any chance you get, aching to see their face or hear their voice? You shake your head, sigh, and look out the window of the Uber that weaving in and out of traffic down Mass Ave.

 

\----- (Ali)

 

Ali gets to Reagan with plenty of time to spare before her flight. She managed to get all of her belongings into one checked bag, a carryon, and one large purse. She promises herself she will do better in the future, but in the meantime, she's happy with this. In her dream world, she would have two or three checked bags, a girl needs options. She is meeting some of her new co-workers for the first time when she lands and definitely doesn't want to be 'that girl'.

 

She is hoping to use most of the five hour flight to do the research on the current team. While familiar with some of them from her college days and stint on the team, she definitely doesn't know them from the 'professional angle' she now has to take. When she hung out with her teammates, she wasn't all caught up on stats or the ins and outs of their accomplishments with their club teams. 

There is also the little thing of completely walking away from the game which meant not reading or watching anything soccer related after she had to make the decision to quit. She cringes when she thinks of that word, but what else could she call it? Everyone else thinks retires is a better word, but that’s not what it feels like. Honestly, until she moved into this new position, she wasn't even sure who was even on the team anymore. Yes, there were a few teammates she kept in close contact with, but those conversations usually stayed away from the game. They know how utterly devastated she was.

 

When ESPN came calling last month about a sideline reporter position, she couldn't turn it down. While it was completely out of the blue, she knew it was time to connect back to the game she loved and a cool opportunity, even if she was on the pitch in heels instead of football boots. It took her a little over a week to actually accept the position, having had to talk through it all with her friends and family. Kyle was definitely the first one she called, almost before she hung up from hearing the offer. His concerns were her mental state and seeing how she finally had turned the corner. Recently she had made some baby steps to even be in the same room if a soccer game was on or being talked about. The most she could go down the path of watching though was when the EPL was on. A league she had zero connection with, again, baby steps. He knew it would be perfect for her though, her knowledge of the game is unbelievable, her effortless knack of being able to talk to anyone and everyone like they are the only people in the room and of course, she wasn't hard to look at. She rolled her eyes when he proclaimed "hunny , you better get ready, you are going to be getting those marriage proposals from the boys and girls". Always one to keep it real, they talked for hours and by the end of the conversation, she was feeling all in and excited about the prospect. After Kyle, she called her friend Heather, who was an old teammate of hers and knew was still with the team. Heather, like Kyle, thought it was an amazing opportunity not only for her career but to reconnect with her friends from the past.

 

As she made her way through the airport, she picked up a few magazines for the flight and headed over to her gate about 30 minutes before boarding. From first glance, it didn’t look too crowded so when she sat down, she didn't feel all that guilty for putting her stuff in chair next to her versus on the floor.

 

\----- (Ash)

 

You wake up later than you expected, considering you have to be out the door and on your way to the airport in less than an thirty minutes. Probably staying up until 3am packing wasn't the best idea. You quickly shower, throw on some fitted sweats, a t-shirt, sweatshirt, and a snapback. You usually try to dress a bit nicer but with a five hour flight in your future, you are hoping you can just go to sleep. It's days like this where you wish US Soccer would splurge for a first class seat.

 

Thankfully, there wasn't much traffic so you end up with some extra time and wander over to get some breakfast and coffee from the food court in your terminal. You aren't sure why they can't have better places to eat seeing how many people end up eating at an airport. On your way to the gate, you stopped in and picked up some magazines and water in an attempt to stay hydrated on the flight. You have training the next morning at 9am and know it's in your best interest to be on form and not exhausted AND dehydrated. 

You were lucky enough at the end of last year to finally come into more playing time and fighting for the #1 spot. You still don't understand why it's even a question, but apparently, the coach thinks you should be alternating games with Alyssa. Ever since Hope had to retire after a freak injury about six months ago, you two moved up the depth chart and instead of competing for #2 & #3, here you are going for #1 and #2. You feel that you have really fine-tuned your game and should be the go-to keeper but of course, nothing comes easy, it never has. You finally saunter over to your gate with about 10 minutes to spare and look to find to a seat.

 

"Is anyone sitting here?" you ask while pointing to the large purse occupying one of the few seats not occupied by a human body.  She looks up from her phone and mumbles "Sorry" while giving you a small, apologetic smile and grabbing her things to move them in front of her feet. You respond with a quick "Thanks" which you really can't be certain if you said louder than a whisper. Once you saw that smile and those eyes, you definitely think your body temp went up about 5 degrees. You pull out your phone to answer a few texts and to check last minute emails but you find yourself glancing out of the side of your eye to check out the cute girl. For some reason, she looks vaguely familiar but don't much thought nto it. You figure you probably either saw her at the airport before or around town. You notice that she is texting back and forth with someone, which seems rather entertaining based off the stifled laugh you hear. 

You are startled out of your 'observing' ( _spying?_ ) when they make an announcement they are starting to board. She glances over as she gets up, probably since you jumped about a foot out of your seat, chuckles and says "you alright over there?". God, you are an idiot. This time it's you that has the small laugh, a shake of your head, and answer  with "apparently not." By the time you even get out the last word she has turned away and is walking to board. This time, not having to try and be cool, you notice the tight black jeans she is rocking with some heeled boots. You mumble under your breath "damn, and why can't I be in first class?".


	3. Tread Lightly

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In terms of when all this is happening, it's Jan 2015.

\----- (Ash)

While making your way down the jet way and turning the corner to get on the plane, you sneak a peek at the beautiful woman again. Sitting two rows back, you can see her flipping through a copy of ESPN magazine, which you weren't really expecting. If you are honest with yourself, she really is one of the most beautiful women you have ever seen. You are seriously thinking of asking the guy next to her how much money you could give him to switch seats. You finally make back to your exit row seat, get settled and think that you are pretty sure that girl checks all the boxes for you in the looks department if you think about 'your type'. You close your eyes with the brunette still fresh on your mind and fall asleep before the plane even pulls back from the gate.

 

\----- (Ali)

 

About midway through the flight, Ali decides she needs to actually start researching the team so she can hold an intelligent conversation with her co-workers tomorrow in their first official meeting. She takes out her computer and starts to create a template she can use for each player. The basics of course, where are they from, what school they went to, what club team they play for, and a picture for good measure. The second part of the template is a bit more free flowing since she really isn't sure where to focus, maybe just some interesting tidbits from their life or career. She figures she should try and get some of their personal history so she knows something about them off the pitch. She also knows as a player though, there is a line of what should be talked about on the air, as she never wanted all of her personal life being fodder for fans. There may be instances where that is acceptable but only after clearing it with the player first.

 

She figures she might as well do this by position and starts with the forwards. It's funny how the template she created should be maybe 4-5 lines max but is now exceeded it by paragraphs in some cases. As she is finishing up with the defenders, she hears the familiar announcement "we are beginning our descent into the Los Angeles area…" from the captain. She decides she has enough time to pull up the goalkeepers so she can at least gets the basics done and fill in the rest later. As she pulls up the first one, she starts jotting down the name and goes back to copy and paste the roster picture to her template when she stops momentarily and just stares. In her mind, she is trying to figure out if it's the same blond that she was sitting next to her nearly 5 hours ago. She studies the photo for a minute and thinks how stunning she is but less than a second later, gets that thought completely out of her head. As soon as she sees she plays for the Washington Spirit, she is basically 100% certain at this point it was her jumpy seat friend. She giggles to herself thinking back how she could easily see the blond watching her at the airport during the conversation she was having with her brother and what followed before she left. She almost lost it completely when she had text something along the lines of 'The girl next to me keeps staring at me' and he replied 'you are in such a dry spell you might as well help her out and give her a house key now".

 

Once the plane has finally come to stop at the gate, she gathers her things and quickly makes her way off. She knows that at least 4 of her new co-workers will be meeting her at baggage claim shortly so she does her best to make it there without too much delay. Coming down the escalator, a smile comes across her face as she recognizes one of the faces in the crowd.

 

"Well, well, look what the cat dragged in" she hears in a familiar voice.

 

 Julie Foudy was always a player she looked up to when she was younger and the fact that they were now working together thrilled Ali to no end. She has always know her to be a straight shooter and was hopeful she would be someone to help guide her to succeed on this new journey.

 

Ali responds with some sass "They had to get someone in here to make you look good".  A big smile came over Julie's face while they shared a quick embrace and Julie introduces her to a few other members of the team. Not to let her get the last dig, Julie made sure to yell to some of the others "make sure you to grab a few luggage carts, I know this one doesn't travel light." Ali responds with a "yeah, yeah" while making her way to wait for her luggage to come onto the baggage claim belt. Just as she is grabbing her bag, she hears Julie's voice again over her shoulder.

 

"Hey Ash, good to see you my friend" as Ashlyn reaches out to hug her and replies "same to you, Jules". At this point, Julie sees Ali coming over with her bag and helps with the introductions, "Ash, you have met Ali before, right?". A dimpled smile comes over her face with a reply "I don't think we have officially met, I'm Ashlyn Harris, I think we were on the same flight from DC." Not to be outdone, Ali returns a wide smile while shaking her hand "I think you are right. I'm Ali Krieger, nice to meet you. Also, good to see you a little less jumpy this time". Ashlyn laughs to herself and just answers with a shake of her head. 

Julie proceeds to tell Ashlyn how Ali is joining the ESPN team as a sideline reporter for the matches that will be televised by the network and also throws in that she was on the national team as Julie turns away to go get her bags as she sees them coming out. Ashlyn follows that up with a confused look on her face and asking Ali how long she played on the team, seeing how she still seemed so young. Quietly, she replies with "until 2012".  Ash immediately can feel the shift in Ali's body language and just follows-up with a quick "gotcha, maybe that's why you seemed familiar to me". Trying to help lighten the mood, Ali says barely above a whisper, "oh, so is that why you were staring?" along with a raised eyebrow.  Knowing that only Ashlyn heard the comment, you see a little red come over her cheeks while she shakes her head again. Ali saves her and follows up in regular volume, "Anyway, it was great meeting you Ashlyn, I'm sure  we will be seeing lots of each other. Good luck in camp this week!" as she starts to gather her things to follow after Julie and team. Before she turns around to leave, Ashlyn extends her hand again to shake hers and adds, "likewise. Sounds like a good luck is in order for you as well. Hopefully see you around". 

They both share a simple smile and each go on their way.

 

Ali catches up to Julie as they all pile into a van to head over to their hotel. As they are pulling away, Julie mentions that Ali should really dig into the current keeper situation during the week so they can do a piece on it during the game. She looks at Julie quizzically that let's Julie know she should elaborate in a bit more. "So Ashlyn has been with the national team, I think, since 2012. She had bad string of injuries, after being basically the savior of the youth national teams growing up, but was looked over when it came time for senior team call-ups. She finally made it right before the Olympics, but didn't make the cut. Since then, she has busted her ass and has been to the all the camps, pushing for the number one spot after Hope's retirement."

Ali nods along following, making mental notes in her head on things she wants to follow-up on. She dares not show how painful it is to just listen to her talk about the 2012 Olympics, injuries, and retirement like it's just some regular old thing. Julie continues "she has a huge following of fans that are rooting for her, but right now, the coach is basically rotating the keepers per game to see who should be the clear starter for the World Cup in a few months". Ali soaks it all in and agrees she will work on getting some time to talk to Ashlyn and the other keeper vying for the spot, Alyssa, prior to Saturday's game. 

They arrive at the hotel a short time later, check-in, and go to their rooms. Ali immediately collapses on her bed, her mind going in overdrive and wondering what she got herself into.

 

\----- (Ash)

 

You watch Ali walk away after Julie and smile, knowing that this one is a handful, definitely gives as much as she takes. While you are waiting for the team van to pick you up, you run into to some fellow teammates, Megan, Heather, and Whitney. The four of you are basically attached at the hip so it's no surprise you all draw attention with the yelling and jumping around you do when you see each other. You have only been away from them for two months, but it looks like it's been years. You climb into the back of the van with Heather while Megan and Whitney are in the row in front. After some brief catch-up with the group, you ask Heather if she knows Ali Krieger, knowing Heather has been on the team for almost a decade. Heather looks at you with a crinkled brow and slowly answers "yeah, how do you know Ali?".

You respond that you just met her after your flight when Julie introduced you two.  "Ah" Heather adds, like a light bulb just went off in her head. "I forgot she was going to be here AND that you two both live in DC". You nod your head in agreement and look out the window. After a minute or two, you turn back to Heather and ask a bit more quietly "why she is no longer playing?". 

Heather let's out a soft sigh, thinks for a few seconds before responding, "It's not really my place to say". You are all but pleading with your eyes when she continues "she had an injury that she couldn't come back from. She has had a tough time with it all but is making huge strides with everything she has gone through. I'm pretty sure on Saturday it will be the first time she has even watched a US match since she left".  After a brief pause, Heather adds, "you remember the '11 world cup, when we came back and beat Brazil?". You nod, which signals her to continue, "Ali was who hit the PK for us to move to the finals." Now it's your turn for the light bulb to go off in your head. 

That's why she looked so familiar to you.  

Heather brings you back in the moment and adds "you two are the complete opposite but for some reason, I could see you two as great friends. Plus since she just moved back to DC, I'm sure she wouldn't mind another familiar face. You should definitely stay in touch with her when you guys get back home. My only advice is to tread lightly on her playing career". You pat Heather's knee in acknowledging her last sentence and go back to looking out the window. You know better than anyone what injuries can do your body as well as your mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Moving a little slow at first to set things up, sorry if it's boring. Once we get through camp, it will pick up. Trying to lay the groundwork for when they get back to DC.


	4. Trouble

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Slowly making our way through camp. Still just a lot of set-up.

\----- (Ali)

The next morning comes way to fast. Ali had promised her brother she was going to keep up with her running while in LA. Unfortunately, that meant getting up before the sun came up so she could be ready for her meeting. The only thing saving her was that her body was still on East Coast time so surprisingly, she wasn't as tired as she was expecting.

 

She walks out of the hotel and decides to run along the beach path that is only a few blocks away. About midway through her run, she notices the faintest hint that the sun will be up soon and decides to head back the way she came so she can watch the sunrise on the beach, closer to one of her favorite coffee shops and the hotel. 

 

Sunrises are a bit different on the west coast than the east coast. The sun doesn't exactly rise out of the water, but the color of the sky is always what has drawn her in. Once she got to where she wanted to be, she took off her running shoes and made her way through the sand.  She noticed there were only a few other people around so she easily found a spot by herself.

 

She always liked being up before the world. There was something so serene and peaceful before the day got a hold of you. When she was able to catch an actual sunrise at the beach, it was perfect. It didn't happen as often as she wanted, usually settling for hazy DC ones. In her mind, nothing compares to it. She can settle for this though, it's about as close as she can get, and right now, she needs it. Hearing the waves crash, feeling like you can be one with your thoughts. She wouldn't miss this for the world. She vowed to return here every morning, even the days she didn’t go for a run.

 

What she didn't notice was the blond about twenty feet away, thinking the same thing.

 

\----- (Ash)

 

You find no better way to center yourself than being at the ocean. Since you have been in DC, it's the one thing you miss about your home. There are bodies of waters, there are sunrises, but nothing like the wide open ocean. You could listen to the lapping of the waves all day.

 

As you sit there, you think about why you are in LA right now. You feel like this camp is a make or break for you. You have been flirting with the top keeper position for a few months, but if you are honest with yourself, you know this is when the coach will make the decision for the World Cup in June.

 

You want nothing more than to be thrust into that pressure cooker situation. You excel under pressure. With forwards streaking down the flanks, one on one, 'bring it' you always say to yourself as you get into position. You never shy away from a challenge. Why should you just have to play on the goal line and count solely on your defenders to make the stop? That's how you and Hope (along with Alyssa) are different and in your mind, your way is better.

 

On the flip side, you are also running out of fingers to count all the injuries you have had to work through. Whether it's your knees, hips, hands, shoulders. Is there any part of you that hasn't been hurt? Maybe you should include your heart into that list as well.

 

After reflecting about your position and watching the sky turn an amazing color of orange, you glance at your watch seeing you have about 45 minutes to get back before breakfast. As you are getting ready to leave, you notice Ali sitting about twenty feet away, just staring out at the water. She looks peaceful and in deep thought so you don't want to bother her. You do take a moment though to look over at her. It looks like she had been for a run and you wonder if that's her therapy, kind of how the ocean is yours.

 

You slowly make your way up by the pier and stop in one of your favorite places for coffee at the beach. As you are about to order, you hear over your shoulder, "do you really need caffeine? You are fairly jumpy from what I've seen".

 

A smile comes across your face while you barely glance over your shoulder to see the face that has become a regular sight over the last two days. You aren't lying if you say to yourself, 'I wish I could see it every day'.  You finally pull yourself back into the moment and answer with "shouldn't you still be getting your beauty sleep?".

 

After a roll of the eyes, Ali quips "all natural" followed by a hair flip. You whisper under your breath "I agree".

 

"So what are you having, my treat." you offer. She shakes her head no, but you insist. "It's the least I can do since you get to see my ugly mug this early." You hear the best laugh emanate from the brunette who is slowly coming from behind to next to you.

 

Ali just shakes her head in disbelief and says "I doubt you have any problems…BUT since you are buying, I'll take the most expensive thing… orrrr just a vanilla latte." flashing that signature crinkle grin.

 

"Oh, I see how it is princess". You are shocked at how flirty you are being with her but she seems to be giving it right back.

 

"Princess?" She says, with a raised eyebrow. "It's way to early in our friendship for that".

 

You place the orders, pay, and you both make your way over to wait for your drinks.

 

"That's quite an assumption that we are friends already. I barely know you". You are enjoying whatever this is and continue to push.  "I don't really know anything about you. Tell me three things I don't know."

 

Ali taps her chin and says, "only if you share too"? You nod, she continues. "Let's see, I'm originally from DC but just moved back there about a month ago. I live in Georgetown, and I have a brother that I'm extremely close to." You can tell she is staying completely away from the topic of football so you aren't going to ask. She ends with "your turn".

 

At this point your coffees are ready and you motion to the door. "Walk back?" you ask. She simply nods as you start the five minute walk back to the hotel.

 

Once you are on your way, you start to let her in. "So, been in DC for about two and a half years playing for the Spirit." You would miss it if you weren't looking at her, but when you say the Spirit, you see a faint cringe in her eyes. You continue though, hoping to move away from the pain she obviously feels. "I'm originally from Florida, and one more, hmmm,  I have a brother as well. We aren't super close but definitely an important part of my life."

 

She is looking directly into your eyes as you finish, you feel like it's directly into your soul. You are so fucked.

 

She breaks the spell she has over you when she clears her throat to speak, this time, the tone isn't as flirty as it had been.  "They want me to do a little piece on you for the game on Saturday so I'll reach out to Heif about that". You nod, about to say something but Ali stops you for a second by placing her left hand on you right wrist as you are about to enter the hotel. You ignore the fire burning under her hand and try to pay attention to what she is saying. "Just so you know, any conversation we have when I'm not technically working is between us. I've been burned before by journalists by offhanded comments and hated it. I'll only bring it up if you give me permission."

 

You let out a long breath you were apparently holding and let the brown-eyed girl know "I really appreciate that. Maybe my assumption, but was kinda hoping that would be the case, seeing how we are friends and all." Giving a small wink and pat of her hand that was still on your wrist.

 

As you make your way out of the elevator, you turn to Ali and express what's been running thru your mind "hopefully I'll see you down there again? I like having my first cup of coffee with you".

 

"We'll see" she says sticking her tongue through her teeth as she smiles.

 

\----- (Ali)

 

Ali's first meeting with her new team goes better than expected. They discuss the week and everyone's role in it. The ESPN crew will be out at training on Wednesday to record some of it for Saturday's broadcast. That's the day she decides to go out as well and record some quick sound bites from the players and coaching staff to use during the game as well.  She makes some calls to US Soccer's media group to set-up time for her to talk to Ashlyn and Alyssa on Wednesday, after training.

 

Ali is scared shitless thinking about being at a training again. The last time she was at one, she was one of the best defenders in the game. She was preparing for their next Olympic qualifier, all the confidence in the world. She didn't know that was the last training she would ever participate in. 

 

When her meetings are done, she shoots a text to HAO about grabbing lunch in the next day or two. She gets a quick reply that just says 'YES!'. A few texts later you agree on lunch for Monday. They are having double-day training sessions on Monday and Tuesday so Heather thinks that will help her forget about the pain her body will be in.

 

Later in the day, Ali's mind wonders if she will see the blond at the coffee shop on Monday seeing how they have early training. She's not sure why she is so taken by her, but realizes she does need to pull it back some. She isn't just here as a friend ( _or potential whatever_ ), she's here to do a job and needs to keep some sort of boundaries, right? She is sure there is some sort of ethical boundary of sleeping with someone she is supposed to be subjective about. The problem is, she doesn't want to. She is drawn to Ashlyn and she can't figure out why it was so immediate. Ok, she does know partially why. Ashlyn is beautiful, sweet, and confident. Ultimately, she does decide it can't be anything more than a friendship, even though the thought of Ashlyn's gorgeous lips on hers have already crossed her mind. You are so fucked.

 

Her assumptions are right, she doesn't see Ashlyn on Monday. Maybe it's a good thing. Out of sight, out of mind.

 

By lunchtime Monday, Ali is beyond excited to see Heather, it's been at least a couple of years since you two have had an in-person conversation. Ali is waiting in the hotel lobby when she hears "Kriegs!".

 

Ali whips around out of the chair, practically tripping over herself. HAO just shakes her head as she walks toward her adding "apparently nothing has changed. I missed you, Ali" she says, taking you into a tight embrace. Ali sinks into her arms and wraps her tight. "I missed you too". 

 

Ali knows this lunch is going to be good for her mental state as well as just catching up. She has been struggling since the team meeting on Sunday morning. The imminent training wearing heavy on her head.

 

The two of you head down the street to a little beachside café, close enough to the hotel if either of you need to get back quickly. You settle into an easy conversation, catching up on what's been going on. Heather finally wants to address the elephant in the room.

 

"How are you really doing, being back in camp?"

 

Ali sighs, takes a sip of water, shrugs before answering "I was doing ok until we discussed coming to training on Wednesday. I think I was just living in denial and now there is an actual date, I'm completely freaked out."

 

Heather leans forward, places her hand on yours, and tells you everything will ok. Just take it one step at a time. "Al, you know it's okay to feel these things, I don't think you should beat yourself up about it. No one is judging you for it". She continues, "Maybe coming to a training will actually help you. Your teammates are going to be so excited to see you, I hope you know that".

 

"I do know that and I am excited to see everyone. I just feel like people still judge me for not being able to come back from it, or maybe I gave up too easily", Ali responds.

 

"NO ONE" Heather emphasis' "thinks you gave up too easily. You showed us the reality of our career choice and that no one is exempt." She pauses for a second and then continues "You met Ashlyn, right?" Ali nods, maybe a little too enthusiastically. Heather chuckles for second knowing exactly what's already going through Ali's head about Ashlyn.

 

"You should talk to Ash sometime about it all. She is a great listener and has been through her share of struggles." Ali responds a bit quieter, "yeah, but she is still on the field."  Heather quickly jumps on your answer, almost like she was expecting it, "True, but do you know what she has been through to be back on there"?

 

Ali nods in agreement and answers with a simple "no".

 

"Talk to her, Al. I promise it might help things. Don't feel like you have to do it by Wednesday or this week. Maybe when you guys get back to DC, away from it all." Heather debates adding this to the conversation, but figures it probably won't hurt things, "you know, she asked about you".

 

Ali's face lights up and in barely a whisper, "she did?" almost in shock.

 

Heather chuckles at Ali's reaction, "yeah, Al. Like two minutes after you guys met at the airport. She wanted to know about you. Don't worry, I didn't share your dirty laundry, but maybe gave her the encouragement to keep in touch when back in DC as well." she finishes off with a wink.

 

Ali laughs loudly as the table next to them turns while telling Heather, simply, "you are trouble".

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In my writing, I have skipped ahead and have written some 'fun' scenes with them. Granted... not sure how long it will take to get there, but expect a rating change of the story. haha.


	5. Demons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time for Ali to face her fears. The one section that is in italics is just a flashback/thoughts Ashlyn is having.

\----- (Ali)

Ali spends most of Tuesday finishing her research on the team and realizes she knows a lot more players still around then she originally thought. She wants to be completely prepared on Wednesday so it's one less thing to worry about. The only thing that bummed her put was another day of coffee alone. She was secretly hoping she would run into Ashlyn either at the beach, coffee shop, even hotel but, no luck. She had a quiet dinner with the rest of the ESPN crew, working on the details of tomorrow's training.

 

A very loud Taylor Swift singing about _'daydream looks in your eyes'_ came blaring from her phone on Wednesday morning. She stretches and attempts to motivate to go for a run. One thing she is proud of, is making it down to the beach every morning, whether a run is involved or not. It's been helpful in dealing with the anxiety, today is no different. In fact, today feels like weights have been place on her chest, it's hard for her even to breath. That's definitely a sign to get out of the room and clear her head.

 

As she is finishing up her run, Ali ends up at the same area she has been at all week. While taking off her shoes to go sit in the sand, she notices someone sitting in the exact spot where she has been every day. She almost wonders if it's her mind playing tricks. There in front of her is the blonde, in a hoodie, sweats, and snapback, similar to that day at the airport. A massive smile comes across her face. Of any day, she couldn't be happier to see Ashlyn today. She thinks that maybe all of the flirting will help settle her nerves. In reality, it turns them into butterflies.

 

When she is a few feet away, she see's Ashlyn is sitting on a towel that is spread out with two coffees. A momentary panic hits that _(her?)_ blonde is with someone else. Not that she has any right to care, but some how it makes her smile drop a little. Ali at this point is casting a shadow in the sand, in front of Ashlyn but before she can walk away, the girl in front of her turns around, a smile forming.

 

"Come sit" Ashlyn says while she pats the towel. "I was hoping I'd see you here". The smile that had started to drop picks up again. Ali sits on the towel and wonders aloud "how did you know I'd be here…lucky guess?"

 

She shrugs and says "maybe, maybe not.  I can't reveal all my secrets". Ali quickly follows with "stalker".  They both laugh for a few seconds while silence falls over them, while looking out at the ocean. 

 

"Will you still call me a stalker if I brought you coffee too?" Ashlyn says as she grabs one of the cups situated next to her and hands it over. Ali eyes her cautiously while taking the cup. "How do I know you didn't put anything in this?". Ashlyn almost spits out the coffee she had just taken a sip of. After gaining control, she dead pans back to Ali "you got me. I roofie girls at 6am with their coffee". Ali nudges her with her shoulder, while again, laughter falls over them.

 

Finally, Ashlyn takes a deep breath and goes for it. "How are you doing today?" Ali doesn't turn and face her, instead choosing to look straight ahead as the tide goes out. Not questioning how she could know today is tough, she gets out "I'm struggling" while her head drops a little. If Ashlyn wasn't facing her, she would have missed it she thinks.

 

Ashlyn nods and says "it's okay to struggle, you know? I'm not going to push you into telling me why you are, but I'm here if you want to talk." Ashlyn notices a tear starting to fall out of her right eye. She didn't hesitate to pull Ali close to her, without saying a word. Both of you just sit there, soaking in the moment for what it is, a blurring of lines.

 

Ali finally gets composed enough to notice the time. They both need to get back to the hotel. She untangles herself from the blonde's left arm. As soon as she does, she misses the the warmth, the comfort of what felt like home. Ashlyn takes a deep breath and looks back at her with a sad smile while she stands up. Ashlyn extends her hands down to help the brunette up from the towel. It's the first time they have had their hands truly together and it felt wonderful. It's also the first time Ashlyn has been this close to her and her beautiful body, and god damn, her breath catches in her throat. It's not hard for Ali to notice. She breaks the mood by saying "eyes up here, stud."

 

They make small talk on the way back to the hotel and when they go to separate, Ashlyn turns to Ali and sincerely tells her "if you are still struggling at training, take a deep breath and find my eyes. I can't physically be there for you, but just remember you are stronger than your demons". Ali closes her eyes for a second and just says "thank you" while she turns and walks to grab the elevator.

 

\----- (Ash)

 

You head to breakfast with the team, mind out of control racing. What just happened back there? It was very clear you two had a moment but was it just that, a moment?

 

_Your roommate this trip was HAO and after her lunch with Ali the other day, she mentioned she was worried about her. HAO was never one to betray the trust of a friend, so she left it with "I think Wednesday is going to be hard for her"._

 

_Today was the first day you didn't have two-a-days. Not only was your body thankful to have a bit of a reprieve,  you found yourself giddy at the thought of seeing Ali today. You had already been given a head's up that you needed to meet up with her for about thirty minutes after training for a segment. That though, wasn't what made your heart skip a beat. You remembered Sunday morning , seeing her on the beach and your coffee together. Thankfully, today you could make it back down there._

 

_It was a leap of faith, but you had got up around the same time you did a few days ago, stopped at the coffee shop to pick up her coffee, and made your way down to the beach where she was sitting the other day. When you saw she wasn't there, you did get a little sad but reminded yourself of two things. One, you coming to the beach in the morning wasn't dependent on seeing Ali and two, maybe you were just early. Your favorite thing in the world is making excuses for people to ease your own pain, whether they are valid or not._

 

_After about five minutes, you felt the presence of someone behind you, accompanied by a long shadow  in front of you. When you turned around, you saw her smiling, but it not meeting her eyes. She had quickly recovered and it was brighter, but not before remembering the offhanded comment HAO made the other day about Ali. You weren't really sure why it was going to be a tough day, but you decided to offer her the option to talk about it._

 

_When you heard the words "I'm struggling" come out of her mouth, your heart sank. For her to even share that much, meant she was starting to trust you, even if that was all she shared. As a single tear made it's way down her face, it was like instincts taking over. You weren't even thinking when you wrapped your arm around her, honestly, it felt like the most natural thing. This beautiful, yet sad woman by your side, fit perfectly into you._

 

The daydreaming ends when your teammates sit down at your table, laughing and joking as they usually do. You table your thoughts on what this morning meant and wondering if Ali was at all feeling what you were.

 

\----- (Ali)

 

On the way to training, Ali stares blankly out the window. After being at the beach with Ashlyn, which stirred more things inside Ali than she cares to even deal with right now, she text with Kyle. She told him today was the day and how much trouble she was having. She briefly mentioned her morning chat with Ashlyn, but leaving out how she cuddled into her like she was a life preserver, keeping her afloat.

 

Even though he didn't say it to Ali, he was grateful for people like HAO and Ashlyn for being there for his sister right now. He didn't really know much about Ashlyn, but he had noticed his sister was talking about her quite often.

 

Kyle tried to do the best he could to calm Ali through text messages. Reminding her how far she had come and by doing this, will make her stronger in the long run. She knows he is right, just easier said than done.

 

The car she is in with her ESPN crew pulls up the training fields at the Stub Hub Center. They are oblivious of the inter turmoil their fourth passenger is feeling. As they are all getting out, they let Ali know they will be around taping different players and will meet her by the metal bench on the sideline when training is over. Ali simply nods because at this moment, she feels like she is going to throw up.

 

She stands there for a minute taking it all in. The fresh smell from the grass being cut a few hours earlier, the sun beaming down on her arms, all of the little things she grew accustomed too. She trained on these fields so many times she lost count. Always focused and excited when she got off the bus. The feeling she has today is the complete opposite and it's almost like her knee starts to ache as much as her heart is.

 

With a deep breath, she makes her way over to the training pitch. She is immediately greeted with a few hugs from the coaching staff as they are changing from one drill to another. The next person that comes up to her with a stronger embrace is Dawn, her old trainer. Dawn knew what today was to her and gave her a sympathetic smile while telling Ali she was proud of her.

 

After all of the rehab Ali went through, Dawn was the one that was trying to get her ready to be back on the pitch again. No matter what they tried, her knee couldn't handle it. She wasn't able to make cuts like she used too or even participate in a training session for more than 30 minutes without  being in debilitating pain. She knew that Ali had two additional surgeries to try and fix the problem, each one leaving the knee a little more weak. They both knew after months and months of trying, it just wasn't going to happen. Even though they knew it, neither wanted to accept it. As much as Ali thought she was failure, Dawn was feeling like one herself for not getting Ali back.

 

Ali was overcome with all of the emotions of being there and talking with Dawn. She wiped away a few tears that were starting to fall, straddling the line of embarrassment and being judged by her old and new team. As she is looking around, her eyes meet a familiar set across the pitch. She noticed that the keepers were in between drills, milling about getting water when it happened. Ashlyn smiled at her, and took her hand up to her eyes, motioning between her eyes and in your direction. Ali was transported back to this morning, running through her head _"take a deep breath and find my eyes"_ so she took the deep breath and nodded. What did more for Ali than anything was when the keeper patted her heart and mouthed "you got this" before turning away to start her drills.

 

What Ashlyn missed after she turned away was the authentic smile that came across Ali's face in her direction, repeating in her head, ' _you got this_ '.

 

The longer she was there, the more comfortable she felt. Not where she wants to come here every day, but one that she can put on a brave face and accept reality. Around the same time, practice was ending and the players started making their way over to the sideline. She stands up and is immediately tackled by about five different players. Now, that's what takes away the pain. Feeling loved by the people that you let down the most. At least that's what you tell yourself.  You love catching up with all of them and promise you will go out for drinks after the game on Saturday night.

 

She hears the crew starting to set things up behind her so she refocuses on the task at hand. She is grateful that Ashlyn has now made her way over and is acting like a complete professional in front of your co-workers. Not that you really know these people, but figure if it's best they don't  see her acting like she has a childhood crush on her interview subject.

 

As Ashlyn walks over, she is joined by Alyssa, the other keeper in contention for the #1 spot. Ali had just spent the last hour watching them practice and is impressed, by both of them. She hates that she is a little more biased to the acrobatic blonde that flies effortlessly through the air, making save after save. Ashlyn flashes that dimpled smile at her and then turns to introduce Alyssa. Ali tells both of them that she is going to interview them together and then separately, opting to talk to Alyssa first.

 

Ali is intrigued when she hears about all of Ashlyn's injuries, thinking that maybe she would understand the pain she feels. She doesn't get wrapped up in it all, just filing it away for another time.

 

The interviews wrap up and you thank Ashlyn for her time. Ali is helping the crew put stuff away but she notices that Ashlyn is still standing off to the side. Ali tells the crew she will meet them at the car as she nods for Ashlyn to follow her towards the parking lot. She knows the blonde's ride is waiting over there as well, so wouldn't seem out of the ordinary.

 

When they have walked out view of the pitch and parking lot, Ali stops walking and puts her hand out to stop Ashlyn from walking as well. Once facing each other, Ali starts "hey Ash?" in a quiet tone. The shortened name, not lost on the blonde. "I just wanted to say thank you for today. Not only here, but this morning as well". Ashlyn smiles and nods while Ali continues. "I'm not sure how much you know about me and what happened, but I promise one day, I'll tell you. Please just know how much it meant to me." All Ashlyn does is open her arms while Ali walks into them.

 

It doesn't matter that the blonde has been in the hot sun working out for the last 2 hours. That's the last thing on her mind. All she knows is that having this kind, gentle soul's arms wrapped around her is the best feeling in the world. She takes a deep breath and wraps her arms around the blondes middle and squeezes her tight. The only sound between the two is Ashlyn whispering into the top of Ali's head, "I'll be here whenever you need me".

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know what you guys think...


	6. You Got This

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This originally was going to be the lead up to the game through post game. I decided to split it up to get something up for the folks that care. Not sure when I'll get the next one up, might be early/mid-next week.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Someone is developing feelings...

\----- (Ali)

Ali was mentally exhausted when she got back to her hotel room after training. She was used to coming back physically drained, but this is a new one. She is actually proud of how well it all went. Job wise, she thought she did a great interview piece with two keepers and will work with her editors on narrowing it down into a few minute segment. Personally, she loved learning a bit more about the blonde and looks forward to really building this new friendship with her.

 

One thing that does cause her a bit of a pause is how close she has gotten to Ashlyn in a short amount of time. She has known her for four days and basically can't stop thinking about her. She worries about the grey area of working together and physically being together. Are they moving towards being more than friends? That's definitely something she can't even think about right now.

 

Her last relationship went down in flames the same time her career did. She hates to admit it, but she hasn't even hooked up with someone over the last two and a half years. She was happy with her girlfriend of three years when her injury happened. She knows it's her fault the relationship went south. She took out all of her anger and sadness of being a failure out on her. She didn't want to be around anyone, especially someone  she perceived as coddling her and downplaying her life's passion.

 

Getting involved with someone brought along it's own anxieties which she hasn't wanted to face either. She would love to have a partner to share her life with, but she is just scared. Scared the same things that brought her last relationship down will bring any future one down as well.

 

As much as she hates to admit, she feels something for Ashlyn. It's the first time she has felt something since her relationship. It's been easy with the blonde, she doesn't struggle to make conversation or feel awkward. She has even surprised herself with how forward and honest she has been.

 

==

 

The next two days are filled with morning coffee chats on the beach. It was never 'planned' that they should meet up or be there at a specific time, they just always find each other in their spot. They chat about non-trivial things and are surprised to learn little details about each other. The most interesting being that Ashlyn lives about two blocks from Ali.

 

\----- (Ash)

 

On Saturday morning, you aren't sure if you will see Ali because of her schedule. The game today isn't until 5pm  so you assume the earliest should would need to be at the stadium is noon. As you are walking to get your coffees, you glance down to your spot and see her already there, with two coffee sitting in the sand. You start your walk down to sit with her and you realize how much seeing Ali has just become a normal part of how you start your day.

 

"Is this seat taken?" 

 

Met with that unbelievable smile, you hear "it depends".

 

"Oh yeah, on what?" you respond with a smirk

 

"You promise me we can do this some time when we get back to DC."

 

You let out a light chuckle as you go to sit down. "Well, for that to happen, you are going to have to give me your number."

 

"How long you been waiting to ask for that?" Ali raising her eyebrow with a sly smile after asking.

 

You don't even skip a beat, "about has long as you have wanted to give it to me" with a smug smile.

 

Ali just grunts out a "ugh" and shoves the coffee into your hand. "Thank you princess" you say, this time showing that dimple.

 

After a few minutes of just enjoying each others company while looking out over the ocean, Ali turns to you to chat about the day ahead.

 

"You getting the start today"? You nod, take a sip, and continue, "yeah, as you know obviously from our interview the other day, I'm fighting for that top spot. I know today is a huge part of that evaluation but I'm really just trying to take it one game at a time". Ali interjects "this is for your ears only" giving you a pointed look. You nod in agreement before she continues "I really enjoyed watching you play the other day and think if you keep it up, there should be no question it's yours. I'm rooting for you" followed by a wink.

 

"Thanks Al, that really means a lot, especially coming from you" wrapping your arm around her, similar to when you were consoling her. This time, you limit it to just a squeeze, even though you feel her head drop to your shoulder.

 

Changing the subject, you sit up a bit to look her more in the eyes. "It's your big day today too, ya know". You smirk before continuing, "I think you are doing great today ANNNDDD I might have set-up my DVR at home to catch you in action."

 

"Are you sure that isn't so you can stare at me whenever you want?" She challenges you before hitting her shoulder into yours. "It is a big day, thanks for helping me start it off right and for the vote of confidence".

 

A content silence falls over before you hear Ali start talking again in her whispery mumble you have grown accustomed too. "Do you know what happened to me?" When you hear this, you aren't really 100% sure how to answer. You don’t want to sell out HAO for telling you about an injury. In reality, it's not like she told you all of the details, so you think you are safe in answering "Not really".

 

Ali takes a deep breath before continuing. She completely shifts to face you and extends her right leg out. You shift to face her as well, legs crossed, and look down at her extended leg. You see it for the first time. One large scar down the length of her knee and two smaller ones on both sides.

 

She looks up from her knee to your eyes. All you see is sadness. Your left hand goes down and hovers over her knee. You look to her eyes, asking for permission. She nods and you  slowly trace the scars with you finger, finishing by letting your hand rest on her knee.

 

You quietly ask, "is this why you no longer play?" Almost in an ashamed voice, she nods and answers "yes. I never could come back from it". You easily see how emotional she is getting and without hesitating, you uncross your legs and scoot towards her, legs going on each side of Ali's waist.

 

Normally this would be an extremely intimate position, but in this moment, it's the last thing on your mind. Right now, you are providing comfort to someone in need. You pull her into your body until her head is on your right shoulder. With your arms wrapped around her, you feel her start to shake and tears wetting the neckline of your shirt.

 

You whisper "let it out, it's ok. I'm here for you" over her shoulder. After a few minutes, the sobs are subsiding and you feel her body shift under your arms. You loosen your grip as she sits back facing you, eyes bloodshot, cheeks stained with tears. You reach forward and tuck the hair that has fallen from her ponytail behind her ears and wipe her tears away with your thumbs.

 

"I'm so sorry, I don't know what happened" she gets out. She shakes her head and it finally dawns on her how both of you are sitting. She clothes her eyes and takes a deep breath.

 

You notice a slight uncomfortable  vibe coming from her so you scoot back a few inches. You tell her,"you don't have to say anymore today, ok? Remember, I'm getting your number so we will pick this up again." A choked up chuckle comes from Ali and you know you have succeeded in making her smile. She ribs you back saying "you are showing me all your moves, so far not impressed." A loud bellowing laugh emanates  from deep in your gut. "Trust me, if I actually showed you my moves, you would be impressed".

 

"On that note princess, I gotta start heading back." You stand up and offer your hands to her for assistance. It's a fairly quiet walk back to the hotel, a lot emotions hanging between you two. When you get back into the lobby, you stop, reach into your pocket and hold your phone out to her.

 

The first real smile since you  joined her on the beach today stretches across her face. She takes it, enters in her info, and hands it back to you while saying "don't abuse it" with a wink.  You match her smile with one of your own and simply answer "in your dreams."

 

Careful not to overstep any boundaries since you are in the lobby, you say you need to grab something from your room so you can share an elevator, spending a few more minutes with the brunette.

 

As soon as the elevator doors shut, you turn to look at her and profess, simply and honestly "you got this today. You are going do an amazing job. Don't let your head play games with you, ok? It's alright to feel sad, angry, lost, just know you are coming out the other side of it all in a good place and you aren’t alone. I'll be there too giving you my strength if you don't think you have enough. "

 

The elevator dings when it gets to her floor and breaks the thick air in the small space. Ali turns before she walks out, grabbing your hand, squeezing it and breathes out "you are an amazing person Ashlyn.  Thank you".

 

As the door closes, you fall back against the back of the elevator, closing your eyes and placing the hand she just held over your heart.

 

\----- (Ali)

 

Ali ends up riding to the stadium with Julie a few hours before the game. It's about a twenty minute drive that for the majority of, is filled with what her kids are up too and how your family is. They are about five minutes out when Julie asks how she is doing today and so far this camp. Ali knows this isn't just about her new role on the ESPN team, it's about her injury. It's times like these when she wish the entire world didn't know her struggle.

 

"It's been tough, I've had my highs and lows for sure" she answers her with. Julie reaches over and pats her left knee and says "for what it's worth, you do a really good job of hiding those lows". Ali laughs for a second and answers "years of practice".

 

As the car is pulling into the parking lot, Ali strikes up a conversation she wasn't really planning on having. "So what's the rules on being friends with players on the team?" not really knowing how to phrase what you really want to know.

 

"Welllll, everyone knows you played with these girls and you are always part of the national team family, so it's not really a big deal. As long as you are a professional on-air and don't show overtly obvious favoritism, you are all good." You smile, somewhat relieved she said all that.

 

As the car comes to a stop in the parking spot, Julie looks over and says "so basically you can continue to hang out with Ashlyn" laughing as she finishes her sentence. All Ali can respond with is "ugh. Has it been that obvious?" joining in the laughter herself. Julie pats her knee and eases Ali's embarrassment, "nah, I just have seen you two walking into the hotel almost every morning when coming back from my runs." Ali just shakes her head and goes to get out of the car. As they are both walking into the building, Julie adds, "same goes if it turns into more than friends… just keep it professional, and no one will really care".

 

\----- (Ash)

 

You are excited and are ready to put on your gloves and get on the field. The fifteen minute bus ride over gave you time to really focus on the task at hand. This is your time to shine tonight and you want to prove yourself, you deserve the #1 with no doubt.

 

After heading out to do your warm-ups, you are doing some stretching on the sidelines. As you are taking in the atmosphere of the stadium, you see her. Holy shit, you have never seen someone look so good. Over on the sidelines, you see an amazing pair black Louboutins, a pencil skirt, a sleeveless top with her hair falling over her right shoulder. You are thanking everything in your being that you set-up your DVR at home to see her up close. You are also trying to figure out how you are going to focus on the game when the only place you want to be is between her legs and not the posts.

 

You continue to do your stretching, this time shifting and facing in a different direction. You have to get your elevated heart rate under control. You know once you get back into the locker room you are going to have to start your pre-game rituals to get focused all over again.

 

You guys finish warm-ups, making the long walk over the entire length of the field back to the locker rooms. You try to capture one last glimpse of the brunette that continues to take your breath away. It looks like the pre-game show must have started as you see her speaking into the camera.

 

A minute or two later, her segment must have ended as she turns and scans the pitch. She immediately finds you. You have never seen a such an amazing smile, only meant for you. You try to give the best one back, showing her everything you are feeling right now. All Ali does is mouth the words "you got this" and turns back towards the camera.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This still working for you guys?


	7. I'll Wait For You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The game is finally here... and the after party.

\----- (Ash)

You had one of the best games you can remember. You aren't sure what to chalk it up to…preparation, the opponent, your defense.  There was also the x-factor of today's game - Ali. Sure you have tried to impress a girl during a game, but this was something different. You wonder if it was just knowing on the sideline there was someone who was going to be proud of you no matter what.

 

It's one of those things you always wanted and never really had. Someone who was proud of you, especially on the pitch. Growing up, your parents always had somewhere else to be or something else to do when you played, basically your life in general. You would skateboard over to the local fields for practice or catch a ride with a teammates for games. You aren't really even sure if your parents came to a game, ever.

 

Your brother made it to a few high school games, mainly because he was at the school with you and just happened to be around. Your grandmother who practically raised you when your inept parent's weren't around made it to a some games here or there, but usually had to work. You could forgive her though and never hold it against her. She at least wished she could be there, far more than you could say about the others.

 

When the whistle blew, you slowly started taking off your gloves and making you way to congratulate your teammates. You chatted with a few players from the opposition since you play with them in Washington. You start the walk back to the locker room and spot Ali speaking with Rapinoe and Wambach. Rapinoe had a few assists and a goal, and of course Wambach was on the receiving end of those assists. Just as you are about to sneak by, a hand practically yanks your shoulder out of the socket.

 

Of course it's Rapinoe. As you get your balance back and give her a WTF look, you hear "this is who you should be interviewing, did you see some of those saves?!"

 

You chuckle replying, "just doing my job. Nothing to see here." About that time, you hear Ali's voice. It's at that point you remember what she was wearing when you saw her during warm-ups. You were proud of yourself for blocking that out for the last 2 hours.

 

"Can you tell us about that PK save you made right before the half?" So professional you think. Once you get your shit together, you flip the switch back to work mode, "She telegraphed the entire way. Never turn your hips, I'll spot it a mile away". You pat Rapinoe and Wambach on their backs and give a nod to Ali and continue back to the locker room.

 

\----- (Ali)

 

Ali was happy she had a lot to distract her today. Being stuck in a game day atmosphere was going to be hard enough. Focusing on a new job to make sure she doesn't fuck it up is whole other set of nerves to deal with. She was thankful how much Ashlyn calmed her nerves this morning. It also helped when she busted Ashlyn for staring at her during warm-ups. Apparently, the blonde forgot how there might be cameras on her while she is out there.

 

Whenever she had a moment to watch the game, rarely did she watch the play, she watched the keeper. She was even more impressed during game play than in training. The girl had moves. She also would only admit to herself that she might have daydreamed once or twice about what other moves she had.

 

The second hardest thing tonight, behind not being on the field, was not to show her excitement when Rapinoe pulled Ashlyn into the interview. She wonders if maybe Ashlyn had the same problem as she didn't stick around long.

 

One thing she was ready for was a drink. She had promised HAO she would go out with her and couldn't be more excited. The next game she is actually covering isn't for about a month and half due to the immediate one being on Fox Soccer, so it will be nice to let loose for a bit with the girls. She isn't sure what Ashlyn is doing, but fingers crossed she will see her at some point tonight.

 

She texts back and forth with HAO, settling on meeting in the lobby where a group is going to go to a nearby bar/club. Shockingly, she didn't really have much for going out in all her luggage so she just settled for a pair of black jeans, a grey sleeveless top, and boots. She opts to wear her hair down, at least to start with. She knows with the humidity, it might be up in a matter of minutes.

 

As she makes her way to the lobby, she seems to be the first one here. To pass the time until the others arrive, she texts back and forth with Kyle, who thought she did a great job. He was also excited to finally see who this Ashlyn was since that is all she keeps talking about. Ali is happy they were not on facetime or he may have seen her blush.

 

"Off the phone!" she hears echoing through the lobby. She knows exactly who it belongs to, HAO. As she looks up though, she wasn't expecting what was behind her. A certain blonde keeper, dressed in black jeans, a black sleeveless shirt, black boots, and her blond locks flowing over her shoulder. Jesus fucking Christ. She knew she had some tattoos, but she had not seen the full sleeve. She realizes then she had never seen her in anything other than long sleeves and pants.

 

Apparently she was staring based off the smug look on Ashlyn's face when she gets closer to her. Thankfully, HAO stopped to talk to someone else so Ashlyn was by herself when she got to her. "What's a matter, princess? See something you like?" You clear your throat and stand up from where you were sitting.

 

"I could ask you the same thing during warm-ups today. You acted like you had never seen someone on the sidelines before." She says with a wink. Ashlyn turns a little red but just laughs it off and answers "not with those legs" pointing to Ali's calves "in those heels".

 

"Yeah, yeah. Well, since you DVR'd it, enjoy the camera picking up your drool." Ali loves it as the smirk falls right off the blondes face.

 

By this time, HAO and a few other players have caught up to the both of you. You shout to HAO while pointing at Ashlyn "who invited this one along"? HAO laughs and says "unfortunately, she is my roommate and likes to latch on" eliciting laughs from everyone.

 

\----- (Ash)

 

Once you get inside the bar, you catch up to Ali so you can sit next to her at the table that is reserved for the team. You aren't sure if she notices your acrobatic moves to catch up to her or not, but she smiles at you just the same. The waitress comes over and takes everyone's drink order. You make note that she ordered a vodka tonic with limes in case you ever have the opportunity to buy her a drink.

 

The table is caught up in conversation about what they will all be up too until the next game. You guys are playing in Miami in mid-February so it won't be too long until you are back together. You break off from that conversation to ask Ali "so am I going to see you there as well"? Ali frowns and shakes her head, "you won't get me again until I think March sometime BUT I best be seeing you way before then back home."

 

It takes you a second with a confused look on your face until you remember you do actually live in the same city. "Oh yeah, totally forgot about that" you laugh. She just stares at you and completely straight-faced says "really? Even after I gave you my number so we can grab coffee sometime"? You are start laughing, "I wouldn't have forgotten for long, it just momentarily left my mind, relax princess". Ali lightly slaps your shoulder. You follow-up "I'm just setting the groundwork for when I forget your birthday. You will excuse it cause I'm a forgetful person". Ali rolls her eyes and states "no one gets away with forgetting my birthday" feeling a tight squeeze on your knee under the table.

 

You both re-join the table conversation before long and learn that apparently everyone is going to dance now. Joy. You are happy that there are handful of you so you won't be forced to dance with the brunette here. Not here, not now. You are pretty sure you wouldn't be able to control yourself with both alcohol and her body mixed together.

 

You end up dancing with Whitney but every now and then looking over her shoulder at Ali who is letting loose with HAO and Rapinoe. You have noticed a few guys make their way over that way but usually the glare she gives them is enough for them to leave just as fast. It actually makes you a laugh a few times where Whitney has looked at you and said "what is happening" while she turns around to see the tail end of the interactions. Whitney turns back to you "you know, everyone can see the way you look at her. Just letting you know in case you are trying to be on the down low". You stare back at her, shrug your shoulders and say "I have no idea what you are talking about" finishing off with a dimpled smile.

 

At this point, a few of you make your way back to the bar to get another drink. You look over and see Ali trying to hide a yawn. While its late it's not 'late late' but you make your way around some of your friends and lean up the bar next to her.

 

"I'm thinking about heading back soon so just wanted to say bye now before you got dancing again" Ashlyn leans in to tell Ali. She leans back to her and replies "I think I may head back too, I think the day is catching up with me". You nod and let her know you are going to say bye and can meet her out front to walk back together.

 

Both of you make your individual way around to tell everyone bye. You know most of the team has early flights in the morning so you may not see them again until Miami.

 

You end up waiting outside the bar for about five minutes before you see the door open and Ali walk through. Even at midnight after being in a hot bar for hours, she still looks beautiful.

 

Starting the walk back to the hotel, you ponder something before saying it out loud. "Would you be up for walking back on the beach"? She nods as you guys cut over a block to head down into the sand. You hold out your hand for her to balance while she takes off her boots and rolls up her pants legs, while she returns the gesture when it's your turn.

 

While it's midnight, the moon is almost full, casting down a glow onto the water as you walk in the wet sand. You can tell your heart beat is starting to pick up and your palms are beginning to sweat. The only thing that would make it better is if you could hold her hand. You are way too nervous to cross that line, no matter how bad you want it.

 

As you make your way down the beach, you start to hear music playing from a house off the boardwalk to your left. When you are almost in front of the house, you can actually make out what is playing. It's the start of one of your favorite songs by Sam Smith. You aren't sure where this boost of confidence comes from, but you take a deep breath, close your eyes for a second and just go for it. You slowly stop walking and turn to Ali and ask "can I have this dance"?

 

It feels like five minutes passes but in reality, it's probably only been a few seconds until you hear her reply "of course" with an amazing smile spread across her face. You both set down your boots behind you, out of the way of any rogue wave that could come up.

 

You offer a less intimate way of dancing, just in case no lines should be crossed.  You hold out your right hand for her to slide her left hand in to. You feel her hand hold yours and it feels like it's a perfect fit. At the same time, you feel her right arm wrap around your upper back, as your other arm falls above her waist, pulling you two together.

 

As you slowly sway together to "Lay Me Down", neither of you are saying a word, both just taking in the moment, looking into each others eyes. If you thought your heart was beating fast earlier, it's nothing compared to when you feel her left hand let go of your hand and run it up the rest of your arm. You feel her other arm shift until both now are around the back of your neck. To match her move, your now empty hand is around her waist. The space previously between you two has all but been erased.

 

You are completely lost in this moment, in fact you can barely hear the music anymore. You feel her head laying against the top of your chest by your shoulder, her breath light on your neck. You dip yours slightly and tilt it so you are leaning into hers.

 

You aren't really sure a more perfect moment than this one exists on earth right now. You start to feel her fingers rubbing the back of your neck where your hairline is. Your hands drop to her hips and hold on to them like your life depended on them. You aren't really sure who moves first, but suddenly both of your foreheads are pressed together. You are pretty sure you both have your eyes closed, completely lost in each other.

 

Between the waves, the music, and your pounding heart, you barely hear it. But you do and are paralyzed. Your body feels like it's on a roller coaster, your stomach dropping, heart skipping a beat, not able to catch your breath. She tells you again, thinking maybe you didn't hear her the first time "kiss me".

 

This time you don't hesitate. You lean forward, your lips barely touching, but they are. You both tilt your heads slightly to apply more pressure.  You feel her hands leave your neck and move into your hair, pulling you even closer than you thought your bodies could go. You slowly touch your tongue to her lips and you can feel them part. You feel her tongue tentatively enter your mouth, just the tips touching either other, while you slowly start to discover each other. You swear you hear a moan, but you really aren't sure if it was you or her. You are so fucking gone right now, your knees are going to give out at any minute.

 

There is no restraint left in your body as you completely enter her mouth with your tongue as you wrap your arms tightly around her body. At the same time, you feel her hands grip your hair as her tongue enters your mouth in response. After not nearly enough time, you both start to pull away, needing air. You only go back to where you started, your foreheads pressed together, realizing now, everything has changed.

 

You pull back slightly to look into her eyes. They are dark, but you aren't sure if they are that way from want or something else. A smile slowly comes to your face as you whisper "hi" to the stunning woman in front of you. She slowly matches, answering "hey you" in a whispered tone. Her hands are still around your neck, yours around her waist. Neither apparently wanting this moment to end.  She breaks your spell by mentioning you guys should get back. As you hand her the boots that had been set behind you, you turn to start your walk the rest of the way down the beach. You feel her reach into your free arm and wrap hers around it, her head resting on you.

 

After about five minutes of silence, you start walking back towards the sand dunes, heading back to the hotel. You feel Ali separate from your arm as she goes to sit down and put her boots back on. The loss of that contact is almost debilitating. As you both are finishing tying your shoelaces, you go to stand up but you feel her hand tug on yours to sit back down.

 

Shit. This is when shoe is going to drop. You can see she isn't smiling, in fact, she looks nervous with a slight panic behind her eyes. You sit back down and just stare at the ground in front of you.

 

\----- (Ali)

 

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

 

What just happened?! Ali just spent the last five minutes trying to comprehend what happened on the beach back there. Did she want it to happen? YES. Did she expect it to happen? NO, well maybe. Did she think it might have been one of the best moments off the pitch that she has experienced? Of course. And that kiss…. God, that kiss was probably the best kiss she has ever shared with someone. She is also pretty sure she is beyond thankful they weren't behind closed doors somewhere or it wouldn't have ended there.

 

She can tell just by grabbing Ashlyn's hand, there has been a shift. Gone was the ignorant bliss radiating from each other as you both made your way to this point. Ali knows she wants to talk about it before too much time passes, even if she feels sick to her stomach right now.

 

"Hey" she says, turning to face Ashlyn, in a soft voice. "It's not bad, but can you just look at me?"

 

Ashlyn turns her head, are her eyes starting to glisten over. Shit.

 

"I just want to talk before this perfect moment is over and we go back to reality" Ashlyn nods as she continues. Ali grabs her hand and interlace your fingers together. "Ash, I really mean, it was perfect. The beach, the moonlight, the music… you."

 

Ashlyn finally lifts up the edge of her mouth, eliciting a smile for the first time since sitting down.

 

"I just need you to know" the smile drops from Ashlyn's face as you start with that. "As much as I'm a mess about the whole playing thing, I am about the same on all of this" pointing between you two, she chuckles at the end. Not really knowing what 'all of this' even is.

 

Ashlyn's head drops again as she starts shifting her feet under her. Ali squeezes her hand tighter and starts rubbing the back of it to get the blondes attention back to her.

 

"That doesn't mean I don't want to happen, I do. I might just need to take things a little slower, you know"? The air is still heavy between you two so Ali continues, "We are both going back to DC and I hope to God we spend as much time together as we did here, I just need it to go back to what it was before we left the bar while I try and figure my head out."

 

"Ashlyn" she says, maybe a little too forcefully, but you get the desired effect. Ashlyn's head turns and is looking into Ali's soul while she says to her "trust me, there is no one else in the world I would have wanted that to happen with. I just need to get my head and heart in the same place. And when I say heart, please believe me, it already feels like you have a vice grip on it." She pauses and tries to give the most sincere smile she can to the blonde, knowing this is the last thing she wants to be doing.

 

"I just want to be honest with you from the beginning and not freak out in a month or two when it all becomes too much. Please, can you please just let me get there? I understand if you don't want to wait or this is all too much." she finishes rambling as her head drops, knowing she may have just lost any chance she had with Ashlyn.

 

Ashlyn squeezes her hand back, takes her free hand and reaches for Ali's chin to turn it toward her so they are looking into each others eyes and simply says "I'll wait for you."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, I lied, now it will be a few days till I post again. Had a chance to finish this up. 
> 
> Just when you thought we were getting somewhere :)
> 
> Thoughts?


	8. Hook, Line, and Sinker

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Looking at things from a different perspective.

\----- (Ash)

Exhale. Just exhale, you have been holding your breath since she grabbed your hand. She didn't say she didn't like you or think that being with you isn't going to happen. You just need to have some fucking patience. How are you supposed to have patience when everything you want is right in front of you? You aren't really sure but you gotta figure it out if you want any chance with her. Of course you will wait for her, no fucking question about it.

 

You can't stop looking in her eyes now.  You can feel yourself studying every feature on her face. When you get back to her eyes, you see sadness.

 

"Hey, come here" you say as you break the hold between your hands and wrap your arm around her waist as you scoot closer. You feel her rest her head on your shoulder and breath out "I'm so sorry I'm a mess".

 

"Stop that" you say quietly back to her. Slowly you shift from her and are now kneeling in front of her, grabbing her hands into yours. "Look at me for a sec" you plead.

 

She looks at you with those beautiful, brown eyes that have already had at least one tear fall from them tonight. "c'mon, there is no need for that. What happened to that smile from a little while ago? How can I get that back on your face?" trying anything you can to get her away from her internal struggle. You finally see a little bit of a smile from her before she hits you back with that banter you have grown quite fond of "well, I know one way…"

 

"Oh really and what's that princess?" you shoot back in a questioning tone that matches the look on your face. Before you even know what happens, she leans forward slowly and places her lips on yours. As she pulls away from the chaste kiss she just graced you with, foreheads resting together, she tells you "that will every time."

 

"You will be the death of me woman", Ashlyn chuckles, stands up and offers a hand to Ali to help her up. "I'll just follow your lead, so just keep me posted" you say to her and smile.

 

"Thank you for being so understanding, I know I am a mess, all of this" she gestures to herself "I'm sure it isn't what you thought you were getting in too" she laughs to herself.

 

"I'm pretty sure I would do it all over again, you aren't scaring me away that easy" you quickly add.

 

You can tell something is still bothering Ali, so you encourage her, "talk to me, that’s going to be my sticking point in this… you have talk to me, please let me in."

 

Ali sighs and looks over, "I will, don't worry. I haven't had that issue yet, have I?" smiling in the blondes direction. "all I am thinking about is if we can keep this to ourselves and not have the team meddling? I don't mind if you need to talk to your friends but can you ask them to keep it quiet? I'm still new at ESPN and don't want it to be a distraction if people start talking."

 

Ashlyn straightens up, "absolutely. I wouldn't dream about it. I do like to keep things private, you know" winking back at Ali.

 

As you start your walk back to the hotel, Ali reaches out and lightly touches your wrist to turn you toward her. "Would you mind if we went back to 'friends' tomorrow?" she says with a shy voice. You wiggle your eyebrows at her and she just shakes her head.

 

"Well, I'm not sleeping with you so you can get that out of your head" as she lets out a laugh from deep in her gut. She starts to get shy and mumbles, "I just want to feel you close to me. I would be lying if I hadn't thought about wanting tonight to happen". This time you raise your eye brows up at her, waiting for her to go on, "I don't know, it just felt nice".

 

You lightly take her hand and interlace your fingers, pulling her close to you. "Nice? All I get is nice?" you smile at her and respond "you took my breath away".

 

You walk back, holding hands, chatting about going back to DC. You have to stay in LA for a few days for a photo shoot while Ali is leaving the next morning. You guys make tentative plans for when you are back, which makes you a little giddy inside. Luckily, you aren't in season so your days are pretty flexible and open. Not like you would schedule your day around her availability… or that’s what you tell yourself.

 

When about a block away from the hotel, you drop her hand, giving her a simple smile and shrug. Ali understands and just runs her hand across your back in acknowledgement and appreciation.

 

In the hotel, you are thrilled you don't see anyone you know. You both start dragging your feet towards the elevators, not wanting the night to end. Both knowing when the night ends, it's back to your new reality.

 

As the elevator doors open, you stretch out your arm, motioning for her to go first. She pushes the button for her floor and hovers over yours. As the door is closing, she asks "walk me to my room"? You don't even let a second pass, "of course".

 

When you both step out of the elevator she interlocks her fingers with yours again. Thankful she is not on the team floor and apparently with no one else she works with, you get to soak in the soft touch of her hand within yours. An even more perfect fit every time you get to hold it.

 

She stops in front  of a door, signaling it's her room. "This is my stop" as she turns to face you, reaching out for your other hand. "Thank you for the last few hours, they were..."  you help her fill in the blank, "amazing".

 

She squeezes your hands and looks at you in the most sincere way. "Thank you for being patient with me, becoming someone I can talk to and trust, almost overnight" she chuckles, shakes her head and continues "annnnd I look forward to when you take me on a real date", winking with that last statement.

 

Your smile grows so large at that last statement and honestly tell her "I can't wait for that day. I can't wait to treat you how you should be treated, till you have no doubt in your mind about your worth to yourself and others, and maybe to another spontaneous dance on the beach."

 

"I can't wait for that either" she responds as she learns forward, and touches her lips on yours. It starts fairly chaste until you feel her slowly pull your hands to her hips. As she let's go of your hands, you feel hers go around your waist and slightly under the hem of your shirt, onto your back.

 

As this point, you aren't even sure what is happening, but for fucks sake you aren't going to stop it. You slowly lower your hands down over her ass and pull her closer. You know you are pushing it, but she isn't acting like this is the worse thing in the world.

 

By this point, your tongues are intertwined as her hands have worked their way up to your neck. You are both letting out soft, quiet moans until you feel her finally pull her lips off yours.  She doesn't take a step back, she simple just rests her head on your shoulder., wanting to enjoy your warm, strong embrace.

 

After about a minute or so, you feel her start to pull away. She mumbles to you "sorry, I just needed something to remind me to get my shit together".  You can't help but smile and let her know "anytime you need a reminder, just let me know" with a wink.

 

"I'll see you when you get back to DC?" she asks. "You aren't getting rid of me easily. Coffee first day back?" you offer.

 

"Can't wait" as she gives you that crinkled smile that makes you weak in the knees.

 

She reaches for her key so you know the night is over. "Thank you for tonight" you offer sincerely. Not to be outdone, the brunette shoots back "thanks for wearing that sleeveless shirt and showing off those tattoos. Obviously, you see the effect." Laughing as she trails off. You just shake your head and fire back "if these do that to you, wait to see the others".  On that note, you see her physically sigh.

 

You wait until she gets in the door and closes it before you move, but your feet can't move, they feel like they are stuck in quicksand. All you do is lean your head on her closed door and whisper to yourself "how I have gone my whole life without feeling like this before."

 

Little do you know, the same words were being said on the other side of the door. 

 

\----- (Ali)

 

Ali wakes up the next morning, almost feeling hungover. This isn't from drinking too much or staying up to late. This is an emotional hangover.

 

After she got in her room and into bed, she replayed the last few hours over and over in her head. She was trying to figure out why she put the brakes on something good that was actually happening in her life. Maybe subconsciously she is scared, scared that something that felt this good, this quick, could actually last. She doesn't think it's all a physical desire for Ashlyn, even though the thought of her body alone makes Ali's ache in away it hasn't for years. She had gotten to know Ashlyn over the week and really saw her as someone she could open up to and trust with her emotional baggage.

 

The flight home was filled with much of the same. She was able to finally get some sleep but still woke up with these thoughts running crazy in her mind. As she was waiting for her luggage, she felt someone come up behind her, but didn't really think anything of it. It wasn't until she heard the familiar voice meet her ears, that made her turn around and through a hug around her new shadow.

 

"Um, can you stop taking up all the space so I can get my bag?" Kyle basically shouted at her.

 

"Hey! I didn't know you were going to come pick me up! I was just about to call Uber to haul my ass home" she said as they broke from their hug.

 

"Well, when you get a text from your sister at 1:30am saying  'we kissed'…." raising his eyebrows.

 

"Ugh" Ali just puts her hands over her face. "I don't even know where to start"

 

Kyle sees her luggage coming around the carousel and reaches out to get it. "Let's start with a late lunch and you spill the tea".

 

"Fine. But can we run by my place first, I want to take a shower". He groans when she wants to delay story hour but she reminds him "um, haven't you been begging me to see my place? Suck it up, queen".

 

Kyle catches Ali up on his latest photography assignment and his next trip to SE Asia. She is always jealous of the cool places he gets to go and the subjects he gets to shoot. She gets to go to Canada this year. He loves to remind her that he was always jealous of her travels with the national team so this is payback.

 

Once they get back to Ali's place, she takes a quick shower and they are out the door to the neighborhood café they both love. Kyle makes sure to note that it was probably the fastest he has ever seen her shower and leave the house, even if she is just in jeans, sweatshirt, and heavy coat. They both bemoan how cold it is and how they can't wait for spring.

 

"FINALLY" Kyle exclaims when they sit and order. "You are torturing me!" he makes sure Ali knows.

 

She just sighs and takes a sip of the water the waitress just brought out. "So, Ashlyn" is all she gets out before Kyle practically squeals and jumps over the table. "Girl, she is beautiful! I knew you still had game". She just laughs and shakes her head.

 

"It's not even like that. Kyle, I don't know. Something is different here than ever before." He nods for you to continue. "We have been practically hanging out every morning to watch sunrise at the beach, just having some quiet time. I don't know, she makes me feel comfortable in my skin. I mean, Jesus, I think every time she talks to me she has seen me I'm crying." she puts her fingers up to her head in an L formation.

 

"Do you ever think that it's a good thing, you being emotionally open with someone? I know how much you shut down and keep it all in." Kyle asks gently.

 

"For sure, it's helping. I sort of talked to her about my nerves with first day of training. I think I already told you all that but, I started to tell her why, but completely lost it. I showed her my scars so she  obviously knows it's cause I got hurt. But Kyle, if you saw her face at that moment I was going to tell her, she could have melted a block of ice. And God, she put her hand on my knee and I lost it. I don't  know if it was the moment, her touching me, or just the fact everything is still raw after all this time. She didn't care though, she just held me and let me cry."

 

Kyle just puts his hand over his heart and breathes out "she sounds like an amazing person, Alex".

 

"Yeah, well, I haven't even told you about last night." she says while blushing slightly.

 

"and…you can tell me now, you know" he says after she takes a few bites of the salad that just got to their table.

 

"So you know, I was going out with HAO and them, since we were texting when she came down. Well, Ashlyn was rooming with her and came along. Let's just say, you got nothing on that girl's sleeve." Kyle's eyes go wide "she has a full sleeve?!" you just nod with this cheeky smile. He doesn't even wait for you to continue before he grabs his phone and does a search. "Jesus Christ, she is fucking hot!" he basically yells at Ali. She just shakes her head and raises her eyebrows at him, conveying a 'tell me something I don’t know' look.

 

"Annnywayys, so she totally has this sleeveless shirt on which of course, made me basically black out, but her whole style Kyle, it's so good" He is agreeing with her as he has just scrolled through a few pics of her online.

 

"We go to this bar with like six or seven other people and just end up kinda hanging out, but within the group. Of course we all go up to dance, but she wouldn't really dance with me, she basically just stared at me over Whit's shoulder" she chuckles. "Damn bb, you already got this one hook, line, and sinker." he says back with some sass.

 

"Well, we end up leaving the bar together to walk back to the hotel and decide to walk along the beach. It was such a beautiful night, it was like a full moon and there was this music playing…ugh. It was amazing." she rambles through.

 

"AND?" he basically smacks his hand on the table.

 

"annnd, there is this music playing from a house or something and she just asks me to dance. It was basically the most romantic thing ever and you know how I am about romantic gestures." he rolls his eyes at her comment thinking of all the sappy and romantic movies she loves to watch. "what was the song you two danced too?" he asks, all too curious.

 

"You know that Sam Smith song I made you  listen to over and over again…" she can't even get the rest of the sentence out of her mouth before he interrupts, "SHUT UP! It was Lay Me Down?!" Ali nods while she bites her lip. "what are the odds".

 

"It was so cute, she held her hand out for us to dance like dad used to dance with me at dances. I could tell how nervous she was and I'm sure she could feel my sweaty hands. Anyway, after like 30 seconds of that, I couldn't resist and shifted myself to be closer to her. The whole week just caught up to me and I was overcome with moment and how perfect it was and told her to kiss me." she ends with a shrug like it's no big deal.

 

At this point, Kyle flails his arms up in the air and almost tips back in his chair. "Oh My God" as he gets himself under control "who are you being all forward and attacking this poor girl"?! Ali almost spits out the water she had just taken a sip of and mumbles "far from poor girl".

 

"Don't worry, I majorly fucked things up like five minutes later, so don't worry about that." Always one for the dramatics, now Kyle has his face in his hands, shaking his head. You are starting to wonder what the few other people in the café thinks about you two. If anything, this is entertaining to everyone, even if they can't hear what they are talking about.

 

For the first time in the conversation, she gets a little bit more shy in talking to her brother. "I told her I needed time to figure things out and we need to go back to friends for now until I do". She hears Kyle just sigh into his hands before looking up at her. "I thought you were over Katie and that whole mess? What is there to figure out? She sounds like a catch and basically is everything you wanted and looked for in someone… and this is after a week!"

 

Ali exhales slowly, "I don't know, I just got scared. It seemed too perfect, you know? I have never felt like this before with someone I have known a week, let alone someone I dated for years!"

 

"Baby sis, you just gotta go for it. You don't want to throw away something because a bad thing could happen. What was her response to all of this"?

 

"Shockingly, she said she would wait for me"

 

"Go immediately back to the airport and go to her house and profess your love" as he points to the door of the restaurant.

 

She chuckles and just says "I forgot one detail… she lives over on N Street."

 

====

 

After she finally calmed Kyle down after lunch, which she loved for once being the one to rile him up, she got back to her place and just collapsed on her couch. She was almost asleep when her phone buzzed on the table.

 

_Ash: It's your stalker. Smile._

 

_Ali: Um, who is this?_

 

_Ash: Seriously?!_

 

_Ali: Maybe. ;-)_

 

_Ali: I never got your number, you know._

 

_Ash: Oh, I know. It was on purpose. I didn't want to get spammed by all your messages._

 

_Ali: Aren't you supposed to be a super model or something right now?_

 

_Ash: Well, sometimes even super models need breaks and need to have a real smile._

 

Ali gets the biggest smile on her face.

 

_Ali: And who is helping you with that?_

 

_Ash: Not really sure, but thinking you already have. ;-)_

 

_Ali: Whatever_

 

_Ash: How was your flight back?_

 

_Ali: It was fine, I slept. It's nice to be home on my couch again, that’s for sure._

 

_Ash: Why did you need all that sleep, Princess? You go out again last night after I left to go break some more hearts?_

 

For a moment, Ali reads more into what Ashlyn wrote… did she really break her heart by telling her she can't do this right now? She thinks she is just being sensitive and decides to throw it back in her court.

 

_Ali: Yep, I just sat at the beach waiting for another sucker to dance with me._

 

_Ash: I'm sure the line would be around the block. ;-)_

 

_Ali: Anyway, how is the shoot?_

 

_Ash: Booooorrrriiiinnnnngggg. It's all about sitting around and waiting. There are a few of the other gals here so that helps some, but I'd much rather be some where else._

 

And then 3, 2, 1

 

_Ali: Like my couch?_

 

Ali sees the three dots appear on the phone, then disappear, about four times before the actual reply comes through. Too far?

 

_Ash: Something like that._

 

Apparently not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I am going to have things pick up a little quicker than I planned so look for that rating change. :)
> 
> Don't get your hopes up though, probably will still be a few chapters away. :(
> 
> General thoughts on the story so far?


	9. It's Good to be Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ashlyn returns to DC.

\----- (Ash)

The next few days pass by relatively uneventful. You spend most of your time sitting around in photo shoots and a few interviews hyping the World Cup in June. Now though, you are sitting on an airplane back to DC. You think this may be the first time you are actually counting the minutes until you land. You have something to look forward too. 

You had made plans to see Ali tomorrow morning for coffee after texting back and forth. You tell yourself not to get addicted to this woman but you already find yourself staring at your phone for her to text you. Just like how you literally had to put your phone in a bag so you wouldn't just text her when you were bored. One thing you have enjoyed, the flirty nature of all those texts. 

Finally you land in DC, as the sun is starting to set, and are making your way through the airport to baggage claim. You are exhausted and just want to go home and collapse. That is, until you see her. As you are coming down the escalator to baggage claim, in front of you, the girl of your dreams is standing there. No one has ever met you at the airport like this. 

Every tired feeling you had in your body goes out as your face breaks into the biggest smile you think you may have ever worn. You are pretty sure its mirroring the beautiful woman's smile in front of you. 

As you are about to step off the escalator, she steps forward, smile growing. 

"Well, this is a surprise" you breath out into her ear when she pulls you into a huge hug. 

"I was in the neighborhood" she replies back, muffled into your neck. She pulls back, looking you in your eyes "I missed you" she states confidently and shrugs. 

"I missed you too. You know, you are the first person to ever come meet me at the airport. Now you have to pick me up every time" you wink at her as you turn to go get your luggage. 

"We'll see, you are in a probationary period" winking back. 

You let out a loud laugh and tell her "I guess I'll try to behave so I don't lose my privileges".

She shrugs and says back with her signature sass, "maybe behaving is what WILL lose your privileges". 

Just then, you see your bag coming around the carousel. Perfect timing of course. You just shake your head at Ali and grab your bag. 

"Ok then, princess, where too?" you ask as you start heading to the parking garage with her. She shrugs and replies, "oh, I just came to say hi. You have to find your own way home." 

"I wouldn't put it past you, Al. If I have learned anything, you are unpredictable" you tell her with a kind smile. 

"Is that a bad thing?" she asks

"Absolutely not."

While you are putting your luggage into her car, she still hasn't told you where you are going. Still fighting off exhaustion, you hope it's not showing in your face. 

Ali must be reading your mind "I didn't really have any plan besides coming to pick you up. If you are anything like me, you are probably exhausted. I'm fine dropping you off at your place, I honestly just wanted to see you. I won't be offended…" you smile at her as she continues to ramble as you close the back of her car. She continues, "we can grab a bite to eat out or " you can see the physical shift of nerves as she gets out "or we can pick up something and take it back to my place and watch a movie or something."

You still haven't moved from the back of her SUV, opening your arms to embrace her again as you tell her your thoughts "honestly, I am exhausted so my vote is either your place or my place, and you are staying for dinner". One of your favorite things about Ali, and there are a lot, is how good she fits in your arms. You love feeling her muscles through her shirt. This girl is fit for not having played competitively in a few years. It also put your mind in overdrive imaging how good she must look under her clothes. If what you have felt through her clothes so far is any indication, you are in for a treat. 

She makes no attempt to pull away from you, enjoying the hug as much as you are. You hear her sigh and express "want to do your place since you are already so exhausted? I'd hate for you to fall asleep at my place and have to stay the night". You can actually feel her smile against her body, probably matching the one that is on your face. 

"Sounds like a plan then… we are going to your place" you say as you release her from the hug. 

"Very funny" she responds, not falling for your tricks "your place it is" she stats flatly. 

You run around to the driver side door to open it for her. You can see she is shocked by this action, but very much appreciates it. 

While pulling out of the garage, you are catching up on the last few days. You notice how neither of you have to make an effort to carry the conversation. It's like you have known each other for years. You decide to do what you wan to do, what you are dying to do. 

You look out of the corner of your eye as you take your left hand and lay it on her right thigh. You realize you are also holding your breath. That is until you feel her hand on top of yours squeezing it in approval.

You turn to look at her with a content smile on your face and you realize then and there, how much pull this woman has on you. The way she turns and looks at you, smiling , oh my, it takes your breath away.

You hear the opening chords of James Bay's "Let it Go" playing softly through the cars speakers and with that, you close your eyes for the rest of the drive. 

\----- (Ali)

Ali is lucky that Ashlyn had told her where she lived before she fell asleep five minutes after leaving the airport. When she felt Ashlyn put her had on her leg, she just about died. She was afraid to look at first thinking a whole had burned through her leggings where her hand was sitting. During the twenty minute drive to her place, she sneaks multiple peeks at the beautiful woman next to her and daydreamed of that hand would feel like a few inches higher on her thigh.

She had gone on a whim to the airport to pick her up. Ashlyn had text her before her flight all of her info which in itself, she found endearing. Ali had decided after her talk with her brother and a few days of casual texts with Ash, this was something she wanted. She couldn't let her own insecurities and failures in her past fuck up her future. 

As she is getting off the highway, she starts to actually realize how close you two live. While at a stop light, you figure you should wake her as much as you don't want too. You don't actually know her house number, just the cross streets. You take your hand and gently rub her thigh. You can feel her tight muscles under her jeans and try to remember the purpose of touching her right now.

"Ash" you whisper over, rubbing your hand slowly up and down her leg. Her eyes don't open, but she shifts in the seat, grabbing your hand with her free hand to hold. You contently smile and rest your head back in the seat, staring at the gorgeous woman next to you. This is a sight you don't think you would ever grow tired of. 

She offers her a reprieve until the next stop light and tries a different approach. She leans over to her ear and whispers again "hey baby, time to wake up" and lightly kisses her neck below her ear. In that action alone, the jolt Ali felt between her thighs was enough to pull the car over and straddle the blonde right here. She realizes it wasn't just her own actions that caused the arousal as Ashlyn's hand had slipped completely up her thigh, to the seam of her leggings. 

"Of course she is still completely asleep" she mumbles as she looks down at blonde's fingers that are two thin layers of clothing away from where she needs her the most in this very moment. 

Thankful for a long light, she tries one last time because there is no way she can focus on anything, let alone driving right now. 

She gives up on whispering this time, "Ash" while she squeezes her knee. She sees her eyes flutter open, taking in her surroundings and giving you a sleepy smile. Ashlyn whispers out a "hey there. Sorry for falling asleep". Ali just gives her a sweet smile and shrugs. That's about the time, Ashlyn looks down to see where her left hand was resting and jolts up in her seat.

"Holy shit Al, I'm so sorry" Ashlyn pleads to her, now with both hands in her lap. 

"Hey" she looks over at the petrified blonde in front of her, face deep, beet red and staring straight ahead. She reaches over to turn Ashlyn's head toward her and continues "I'm pretty sure I wasn't complaining" and gives her a quick peck on the lips. "I just need to know where you live, sleepy head" shrugging your shoulders. 

She sees a little relief come over Ashlyn's face while she rubs her face with both of her hands. "Just, uh, take a left up here, take a right down 30th and a quick left on N. I'm right there."

As the car turns through the streets of Georgetown, Ashlyn lets out a content sigh and mumbles "it's good to be home". 

"You know, you basically live a block from me" Ali looks over at her and raises an eyebrow. Ashlyn, feeling a bit shy because of where her hand had found it's home earlier, just smiles over at her instead of making some smart ass comment. Ali senses the nervousness and tries to help her out "guess that means whenever you make that walk of shame you won't have to go to far", ending that with a wink. 

Ashlyn just shakes her head, looks at her, and says "I wasn't lying when I said you would be the death of me."

The parking spot she finds is actually half way between the two places so she won't have to move her car later when she heads home. For as tired as Ashlyn is, she is almost out the door before the car even comes to a stop. Ali isn't sure what is going on but as she goes to open the door, it's opened for her. 

"I like all this, can you just go everywhere with me?" she says gesturing to the open car door. Ashlyn just smiles, still holding the door and says "that's the plan". Both women just hold each others eyes for a brief second, appreciating what was being inferred.

"So I'm going to warn you, I don't really remember what kind of condition I left my place in. I wasn't exactly planning to bring a woman home with me straight from the airport" Ashlyn says as she puts the key in the door. 

"Well, as long as their isn't another woman on the side or the door or any underwear besides yours laying on the floor, I think we will be ok." Ali says bumping her shoulders. 

It's then and there that Ashlyn remembers what when down in her place right before she left. She hadn't thought about it for a week but now felt self-conscious about the whole thing. She has her hand on the doorknob to open and but decides to face this head-on. Turning to Ali, with a serious face, which of course makes Ali's face drop, she offers.

"Obviously, I didn't plan on having this conversation in my hallway" she nervously looks down before continuing "but I was in a relationship with someone that ended right before this trip". 

Ashlyn looks over at Ali who is now fidgeting with her fingers and looking down now as well. Ashlyn takes her hand and lifts her chin up, grabs her hands, and finishes telling her "it was long over before it officially was and if it's any consolation, I already feel more for you in a week than I did in the year we were together, more than anyone I have ever been with. Sorry if that's too much too soon, but I was being completely serious in saying I'll wait for you and we will work through everything together. There is something about you that has completely taken over my mind, body, and soul."

Ali looks straight into the blonde's eyes while she is professing her deepest thoughts and is completely overcome with emotions, she can't even form words to leave her mouth. She pulls her hand back from Ashlyn's grasp and turns the doorknob to go into her place. She crosses the threshold and turns back to see Ashlyn looking at her from the other side. Ali invites her into her own home by curling her index finger at her in a come hither motion.

Ashlyn picks up her heavy feet, walks in and closes the door. An internal panic is causing her heart to almost explode. Ali hasn't said anything since she basically laid her heart out on the line. As the door shuts close behind her, Ali steps to her, slowly wraps her arms around her neck, stands on her tiptoes leaning towards the blondes ear whispering "you consume every one of my thoughts. You are all I want."

With that confession, they both shift so they are facing each other, feeling each others breath on their lips. Ali slowly pulls Ashlyn's head down so their lips meet. In less than a second, the kiss turns deeply passionate as Ali shoves Ashlyn back into the door. She hears the blonde moan when her back hits the door while simultaneously her tongue went deep in her mouth. Ali feels Ashlyn's hands grasping anything she can, settling for her ass as she pulls her up and closer into her body. 

Ali breaks the kiss and moves back to Ashlyn's ear, biting lightly the bottom of her ear lobe before pleading to her "I want you so bad".

Ashlyn pulls back from her, feeling herself dripping down her inner thigh, opens her eyes and whispers "stop".

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Might be time to update that rating...


	10. New Adventures

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Im just going to leave this here...
> 
> Just a heads up, it goes back and forth between their POVs a bit more than the other chapters. The first section is just narrative and then it starts with Ali and then alternates each section.

\----- (Ali)

It takes a minute for Ali's ears to register just what came out of Ashlyn's mouth. She takes a massive intake of air to fill her lungs since she just felt like she was sucker punched. She tries to step back as her face contorts into utter confusion and hurt.

"Wait, wait" Ashlyn pleads as she tries to pull Ali back into her. "That's not what I mean. It came out wrong" she says flustered.

"Seemed pretty clear to me" Ali mumbles out, tears forming in her eyes.

With Ali now out of Ashlyn's grasp, Ashlyn turns around throws her forehead into the door and yells "Fuck!"

The action startles Ali as she takes another step back, further into Ashlyn's place. She doesn't know what is happening . She sees her couch out of the corner of her eye and goes to sit down, still in shock and feeling embarrassed.

Ashlyn finally turns around and finds Ali sitting on her sofa , elbows on her knees, face in her hands. She sighs and crosses the space to find her self kneeling down in front of the brunette, feeling a bit of déjà vu.

"You don't understand how bad I want you and want this" Ashlyn whispers out to Ali's covered face, her hands on knees. Ashlyn sees a wet drop on the floor, obviously a tear. She hears a muffled sound coming from Ali and it takes everything in her to hear and understand what she is saying.

"Then why did you say stop?"

Ashlyn exhales deeply while sighing "baby". That gets Ali's attention and she slowly lifts her eyes to meet the blonde's eyes that have tears threatening to fall as well. Ashlyn continues, "I don't want you to regret something later or tomorrow morning. I want you with every fiber of my being but I don't want to screw things up before we even get going."

It starts dawning on Ali that Ashlyn was doing this for her. Ignoring her own wants and desires to respect the boundaries she had set for them. "I'm sorry" she breathes out. "I don't know what got into me. Between your hand on my thigh earlier, what you expressed outside" and in a quieter tone you continue, "and the fact I haven't gotten laid in almost 3 years didn't help things."

Ali sees a smirk grow across Ashlyn's face as she just shakes her head and laughs. Ashlyn moves next to her on the couch, putting her arm around and says into her ear, her warm breath not helping the situation "then we are definitely waiting, princess."

Ali just puts her head onto Ashlyn's shoulder and groans before mumbling "or we should just fuck and get it out of the way." This elicits a chuckle out of both of your mouths while Ashlyn leans over and kisses your forehead, "well, I guess that could arranged." The only answer Ali can give to that is "I guess we'll see".

Ashlyn stands up in front of Ali, smirk still across face "do you mind just hanging out while I take a quick shower? I can take a look in the kitchen when I'm done and see what I can whip up for us." Ali nods in agreement and just collapses into Ashlyn's couch, closing her eyes.

Before Ashlyn walks away, Ali hears her voice much closer to her than she was previously "am I crossing a line if I still want to kiss you after being the asshole that stopped us?" Ali opens one eye and sees Ashlyn bent over in front of her face with a raised eyebrow. "Yeah, pretty much" Ali answers before pulling Ashlyn down for quick kiss. As Ashlyn is walking back to her bedroom, she shouts "woman, I can't quit you!"

Ali hears the water turn on and just lays there replaying what happened over the last half hour while the blonde is standing naked one room away. She's tempted to just get herself off now and save the time later but figures that might be a little awkward.

She gets up and heads into Ashlyn's kitchen and is pleasantly surprised how organized and clean everything is. She looks in her fridge then finds her pantry. After a fairly decent survey of things, she decides she will make them pasta. About half way through cooking, she hears the water turn off and mentally prepares herself to control her libido when Ashlyn comes out.

Just as she is about to pour some sauce into their bowls, she feels the strongest arms come around her mid-section while the blondes head rests on her right shoulder. She closes her eyes as this happens and just soaks it in. She sets down the sauce pot and wraps her arms around Ashlyn's and squeezes her tight.

"Now, this is something I could get used too" Ashlyn says as she releases her hold on Ali as she turns around in her arms. "That could make two of us" she says before she gets on her tip toes and kisses her.

"Sorry for going through your kitchen and starting dinner, hopefully this is ok?" Ashlyn shrugs and says "I got nothing to hide, feel free" as she starts setting the table. As she is finishing up, Ali bring over the bowls of pasta and sets them down.

"Do you want some wine or something to drink? Ashlyn asks as she goes to her wine fridge. Ali shrugs, "sure I'll take some red if you are going to have some."

They sit next to each other and before digging in, Ashlyn lifts her glass to Ali and toasts to "new adventures".

\----- (Ash)

After dinner is finished they settle in the couch to watch a movie. Ali knows you must be dead tired but are putting in the effort.

"Are you sure you don't want to just go to bed? I know you have got to be tired." Ali turns and ask you, just shaking your head at her suggestion, not wanting the night to end. "I'm already home so I can just fall asleep right here and be good for the night" with a cheeky smile.

"Alright then, let's do this" Ali says as she starts going through Netflix movies. She selects "Notting Hill" and hears a groan from your direction and a mumbled "what am I getting myself into…"

As Ali is laying the remotes down on the table, you lay down behind her and pat the space in front. Ali smiles and gets comfortable, her head laying on your right arm while your left arm wraps around her mid-section. Ali interlaces her fingers into yours and while you place a soft kiss on her shoulder and you snuggle together in an oddly domestic bliss.

About fifteen minutes is as long as you both last. You stir about 2am from the glow of the tv in front, opposite of the couch. It's about the time you notice the brunette sound asleep in your arms. You put your head back down and just feel her chest rise and fall and think how content you feel.

You debate waking her up and taking her to your bedroom or just leaving you both here. Finally, you decide you would rather be in bed so you squeeze your arm around her a little tighter and whisper "Ali". She stirs underneath you but just turns into your chest. You exhale and now really question what you are doing.

"Hey, baby" you say into her ear. You hear a muffled "hmm" in your chest. "Let's go to bed, ok?" You feel Ali nod not knowing if she full comprehends what's happening. You scoot behind her and get off the couch. You look down and laugh because as soon as you got up, Ali sprawled out taking up your empty space. You lean down and scoop her up into your arms. You feel her wrap her arms around your neck as you make your way to your bedroom, pulling back the sheets and laying her down . At this point you are happy you changed your sheets before you left on your trip.

You take off your sweats, t-shirt, and sports bra and climb into bed in your boxers while you throw on a tank top. Even if it's the middle of winter, you love being under the covers with limited clothing and tonight you have a body to help keep you even warmer. As you settle in, you feel the bed tilt over in your direction as Ali puts her leg over your lower half, an arm over your stomach and her head on your chest. She mumbles out something, which you translate into "this is nice".

\----- (Ali)

She feels the sunlight on her face coming through a opening of the curtains. As she opens her eyes, she realizes she is laying on top of the blonde, in an unfamiliar room which she now assumes to be Ashlyn's bedroom. In a moment of panic, she feels her body to see if she still has clothes on. She lays there a little longer, taking in the moment and a smile comes to her face. She probably just had the best sleep of her life and god Ashlyn's body feels so good under her.

After a few minutes, the blonde starts to stir under her, instinct wrapping her arm tighter around Ali. That action must have trigged something in Ashlyn as Ali starts to see her eyes flutter open and pull back to look her in the eyes. A sleepy smile comes across Ashlyn's face as she whispers "good morning princess" and kisses her forehead. Ali smiles at her and squeezes her tight "morning. Who would have thought we would have ended up in your bed either way". Ashlyn chuckles and adds "guess we should have just gone for it then". Ali just sighs and mumbles "maybe" as she throws her leg completely over the blonde so she is straddling her.

Ashlyn's hands go to her waist as Ali's hands fall next to Ashlyn's head. "What's going on in that head of yours" Ashlyn asks of the woman on top of her, hands exploring Ali's hips and ass, pulling her down onto her core. "Mmmm, isn't it obvious", leaning down and kissing Ashlyn deeply, morning breath be damned. She hears a moan from below which spurs her to full lay her body down on top of the blonde. She feels Ashlyn's hands start moving up her body and around her back.

Both of your tongues are intertwined, each getting more wet every second. Knowing she is close to the point of no return, Ali pulls back from Ashlyn, smiling down at her. Ashlyn reaches up and tucks some hair behind Ali's ear, reflecting her smile.

Looking down at Ashlyn, she says in a breathy voice "I can't control myself around you, it's becoming a problem." Ashlyn smiles up at her, answering "well, if the wetness I feel on me right now is indication, I have a good idea" while squeezing Ali's ass. "Awesome" Ali chuckles out and hides her face in Ashlyn's shoulder. She whispers into Ali's ear, "trust me, I'm probably twice as wet as you" and gives her a little peck on the side of her head.

Ali audibly groans at that comment "I hate you". She lifts her leg off of Ashlyn and scoots off the bed. This time it's Ashlyn that's left groaning as Ali makes her way to the bathroom.

She looks in the mirror and just shakes her head. She starts talking to herself "what are you doing right now" and throws some water on her face. She knows this can go one of two ways, one she goes back out there gets fucked by the most amazing women she has ever met, or two, she goes back out there and they just continue flirting and whatever they are doing, just putting off the inevitable. She makes her mind up and gets ready to walk back into the bedroom.

\----- (Ash)

After Ali went to the bathroom, you physically had to get your breathing under control. You aren't really sure where all of that came from but you definitely knew you wanted more it. You know that if she doesn't come out here and want to continue, you are going to have to take a cold shower and get yourself off asap.

Just as you are shifting and sitting up against the headboard, the bathroom door opens in front of you and your mouth drops open. There standing in front of you, is the brunette standing in her lace bra and black thong. Your brain synapsis are completely fried, you can't function.

She slowly starts walking towards you, climbing onto the end of the bed. You take a large gulp as she is basically crawling up on top of you. She slowly makes it all the way up, hands on your shoulders, your cores only separated by both pairs of underwear. She is radiating beauty, nervousness, and hunger.

"There isn't much I know right now and I still need to figure things out before we try anything, which I assume you want too?" Ali nervously questions you. You just nod your head up and down, still unable to form words. You are so proud of yourself that you haven't even looked below her neck except when she originally opened the door.

Ali continues, "the only thing I do know is I want you to do things to my body that I have been dreaming of since LA".

That's all she needs to say before you reach up with your left hand and pull her face down to you. When you are only separated by inches, you tell her "I'll do anything you want me to do to you. All I know is that I need you."

Your lips crash together, her hands making their way into your hair, as you sit further up against the headboard. As soon as your hands touch her bare body, you audible moan as your clit starts beating in tune with your rapid heartbeat. You pull back for a second, looking in her eyes "I'll stop whenever if this becomes to much, ok". Ali nods as she reaches behind and undoes her bra and throws it to the side of the bed.

Your breath hitches for a second before you reach down and take off your tank top. Both of you take a second to look over each other's newly exposed skin. It's also when you both discover the hidden tattoos each other has.

Your eyes are still on Ali's but hers have now dropped to your left side as her finger tips are tracing your brothers name and the flowers on your side. You can feel the goosebumps rising in her fingers wake. Slowly her eyes come back to yours as she takes your right hand and places it on her tatted side.

"This is amazing" you breath out, tracing every word. You hear as you are tracing, "you are amazing". That brings your eyes back to hers and slowly bring your lips together again. This time, it's not rushed by the unbridled passion it was a few minutes ago. It's something soft and exploring. As your tongues are in each other's mouth, you both pull each other tight so your breasts are touching. The sensations are unbelievable. You can feel her hard nipples rubbing on yours.

You wrap your arms completely around her lower back and slowly lift her up to put her on her back. She gives you no resistance as your lips stay connected as you press your body deep into hers.

As you both need air, you take the opportunity to start working your way down her body. You move to her left ear lobe, tongue tracing the outside of it before lightly tugging it with your teeth. Before moving on, you are sure to tell her she is the most beautiful woman you have ever seen which earns a loud moan, nails down your back, and an arched body below you begging you to continue.

Not one to disappoint, you continue to explore the soft delicate skin of the brunette as you dip your head to capture her pulse point. You can tell you are doing something right as her hands are grasping your back tightly.

You take a deep breath before finally giving her breasts the attention they are craving. You capture her left nipple in your mouth, already painfully hard. You enjoy the sensation on your tongue as you swirl it around and lightly tug on the pink nub. At the same time, you reach over with your left hand to gentle squeeze and caress her right breast with your palm, thinking to yourself what a perfect size they are.

As you shift your weight to lavish your mouth on her right breast, you look up to see Ali's eyes closed, enjoying the sensations of your mouth and hand. When your tongue hits her other nipple, you feel her hand go to the back of her head, encouraging you to continue. You hear a soft moan of "please don't stop" coming from above. This only spurs you on to mirror the actions on her breast with your hand squeezing harder this time around.

You feel like you have never been this turned on before. You also have never wanted to make love to someone so slowly that it feels like an out of body experience. What started as raw passion and want is turning into a slow and soft exploration of a beautiful canvas. You also expect to wake up from this wet dream at any minute, this can't be real life.

You move back up her body so your lips can connect again while holding yourself above her. You encourage her to open her eyes when you pull back slightly from her lips. Her eyes flutter open and the biggest, most sincere smile comes across your face. She brings her right hand to cup your chiseled check, looking into your eyes and tells you "make love to me, do whatever you want to my body, it's all yours." Just hearing that complete trust this woman underneath you has in you almost makes you want to come in that instant. You never thought something like this would be the ultimate turn on, but it is. All you know to say to her is just "I can't control myself right now, it's like an out of body experience. You have the most amazing body and I just want to touch every square inch of it." With that, she ends the moment with "go explore" with her bottom lip caught in her teeth.

You slowly lower your self back down to capture her lips before creating a map of her body with your tongue and hands. You continue your same path as before from her neck to her breast. You let your finger trace her side tattoo again but this time followed by your tongue. You can feel her body squirming and lifting up from the mattress beneath you two. Your eyes meet as you move back to the valley between her breasts to make your way south. You moan as your tongue goes over ever ridge of her abs as your hands hold on tightly to her sides.

As you hit the top of her thong with your tongue, you trace the waistband from left to right. As you are directly above her center, you inhale the sweet smell of her desires and this turns you on to no end, knowing that it's you that's doing this to her. As you approach her right hip, you see another tattoo in front of you. As you are tracing it slowly with your tongue you look up and see the dark, brown eyes doing everything they can to stay open. You lift up slightly and whisper up to her "you don't know how much I loved this little surprise. I never would have pictured these on you and I love them to no end." All she says back with a shrug is "always full of surprises, right?!"

As you shake your head slowly, you hook a finger into the side of her completely soaked thing while holding eye contact. All she does is nod while running her hand through your hair. You slowly move to your knees, now being able to take in the sight before you. You no longer see the scared, nervous, woman from last week. You see the strong, passionate, beautiful woman who you hope will always let you have this view.

As you slowly reach down to take off her thong, she lifts her hips up slightly while looking deep in your eyes. As you are sliding them off, you can see her inner thighs glistening from all of the wetness that has been pooled there.

You take this opportunity to wiggle out of your boxers since there is nothing you want more than to feel both of your bodies pressed together. You also notice that you are just as wet, if not more so, than the woman in front of you.

You climb back up her body, your legs intertwined as she opens her mouth for your tongue. As you do that, you take her hands and pin them behind her head, using all your weight to stay above her while applying light pressure on her clit from your hip. You can feel herself thrust up into you and you know at that moment, you have to get between her legs. You move both of your legs between her thighs and spread her legs open. Letting go of her hands you lean down to her ear and whisper "I can't wait to taste you." You hear Ali moan in your ear and tell you "I'm ready to come your mouth." That declaration makes you echo her moan.

You give her one more kiss and start your journey down, both of you staring in each other's eyes.

As you arrive at her hip bones, you reach up to grab her hands into yours, squeezing them when they are together. You feel her legs spread even more apart as you slowly kiss around the area she needs you the most. You feel her pushing her hips up and you take the hint, yourself barely containing your want.

You dip your head, inhaling her sweet scent and put your tongue at the bottom of her opening and lick her up, slowly, making your tongue wide as you can to lap up all of her wetness. You can feel her whole body shake under you as it lifts up filling the room with a loud moan. You can't help yourself as you moan at the sweetness that has now covered your tongue, nose , mouth, and chin. Her hands squeeze yours so hard as you lift up to meet her eyes telling her how good she tastes.

You can't help yourself as you go back and start feasting on her the best you can. Her hips start thrusting under you so you have to release one of her hands to hold down her hips. Her moaning is starting to be non-stop as you hear her panting out "oh Ash, you feel so fucking good!" which only encourages you to speed up. After another minute or so, you can feel her body starting to thrash under you, her hole tightening on your tongue. You look up at her as you start focusing on her clit, squeezing her hand as she declares "I'm coming, I'm coming, I'm coming!" You moan loud as you feel her completely release into your mouth, making sure to capture every drop.

You finish cleaning her up as you feel her hand on your head trying to pull you up to her. You give her one more kiss there as you kiss up her body. She pulls you into a deep kiss, moaning as she tastes herself all over you. As she wraps her arms around your back, you start trailing your right hand down her body. You rest it on her abs as they tighten under your touch. She pulls back to tell you "that was unbelievable. I can't even right now." All you can tell her is "your body is fucking amazing and I loved making love to you, but I'm not finished".

With that you finish lowering your hand into her folds, teasing her by slowly tracing her, going back to kiss her with everything you have as you slowly enter her with one finger. You feel her nails dig into your back as you are now knuckle deep. As you are slowly going back and forth, she bites your ear lobe and tells you "more".

You are so turned on, you waste no time adding a second finger while she bends her left leg to give you more access. You also feel her hands make your way down your back and onto your ass. You pick up the pace as she pulls you tighter into her. Moans filling the quiet space from both of you. You can feel Ali starting to moan louder and telling you faster, close to the edge. Replacing the moans, she yells "fuck me harder, I'm coming". You feel a flood surrounding your fingers and slow the pace allowing her to get the most out of her orgasm. Her hands dug tightly into your body, you pull out of her and push your body up to look her in her eyes.

"Open your eyes, baby" you whisper to her. Slowly, she turns her face back to meet yours, and her eyes flutter open, a content smile on her face and she says "hey, sweetheart".

"Thank you" you breath out. A confused look comes to Ali's face until you continue "for sharing your body with me. I can't even put into words how beautiful you are and how good you feel. I hope this isn't the only time I'll get to explore you and make you feel good, I mean, I hope I made you feel good."

Ali reaches up and cups your face, thumb running over your cheekbone. "Ashlyn, the things you just did to me" she shakes her head back and forth "I can't even put into words. You are the most amazing lover, I could easily become addicted to you" she finishes with a smile.

"Mmmm" you say as you lean down to kiss her while your hand just softly caresses her body. "I don't think I would be opposed to that."

Just as you are starting to roll off of her, she pulls you back down so she can whisper in your ear. "Now it's time to fuck you until you can't feel your legs."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed. ;-) first time writing about doin' the nasty so hopefully it didn't scar anyone for life. lol
> 
> Let me know thoughts/comments.


	11. Greedy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is a continuation of the last chapter for about 90% of it, so consider yourself warned.

\----- (Ali)

"Let's see what you got, princess" Ashlyn says with a smirk, right before Ali flips her over so she is straddling her. All of Ali's wetness is dripping onto the blonde's waist. Ashlyn must feel it too as a loud moan comes from her as Ali lowers her core down.

Ali leans down to kiss Ashlyn, while Ashlyn uses her long reach to grab the bottom of Ali's ass and pull her closer. Ali has her tongue deep in Ashlyn's mouth while she is moving her wetness all over her body, stimulating her clit at the same time. Ashlyn can sense that Ali is starting to work herself up and takes the opportunity to move her right hand around to her clit to help her out.

As much as Ali wants to tell her to stop, it feels way to fucking good. She moans into Ashlyn's mouth before she lifts up a little to allow Ashlyn to slip her fingers between their bodies before sinking back down on them. To get a better rhythm and to allow Ashlyn's fingers free range, she breaks the kiss and lifts her body off of the blondes below so she can completely ride her. Ashlyn brings her left hand around to hold on to Ali's hip, helping her pump up and down on the two fingers she is getting fucked by.

She wishes Ashlyn could touch her breasts now but seeing how she is currently occupied with both her hands, Ali moves her hands off of Ashlyn's mid-section to start massaging her own breasts and pulling her nipples with her finger tips while looking Ashlyn directly in the eyes.

They both are moaning at this point, Ali quickly rising to her third release of the morning. Ashlyn can no longer stand by watching Ali twisting her nipples and pushes herself up, grabs the back of Ali's head, and kisses her deeply. As much as Ali loves their tongues dueling, she wants Ashlyn's tongue elsewhere.

As Ali lifts up she moves her hands back to the blonde's knees, pushing her chest out and basically into Ashlyn's mouth. Before Ashlyn latches on to Ali's nipple, she moves her left hand up, wrapping her arm completely around the brunette's waist.

Ali can barely keep her eyes open but she does as Ashlyn tells her through her winded breath, "you look so fucking hot riding me." Ali moans loudly while she closes her eyes.

Ashlyn finally gives into her wants as her whole mouth engulfs one of Ali's breasts. As her teeth bite and soothe her nipple, Ali moves one hand around to Ashlyn's hair to keep her mouth there, loudly telling her "put another finger in me, I want you to fill me before I come all over your hand."

Ashlyn quickly enters her with a third finger and feels her stretching the brunette. After a few more deep thrusts, Ali pulls her mouth down to hers while kissing and moaning as pushes down hard on her hand, coming so hard her body starts shaking.

Ashlyn feels her starting to lift up and takes out her fingers so she can begin to recover. As Ali moves her hands behind the blondes neck, she shifts herself so she can wrap her legs around Ashlyn's body while she pulls her deeply into her.

As Ali's head is resting over Ashlyn's shoulder, she tells the beautiful blonde woman who keeps satisfying her, "I have never come so much and so hard with anyone. I'm still so turned on, I don't know what's wrong with me. Sorry, I'm being greedy."

Ashlyn can tell she smiled while finishing the last statement and gives her body a squeeze. "Don't ever apologize for being greedy. I would take care of you all day and night and not complain. You are so beautiful and deserve this and so much more. I can't wait to get the chance to do all of that." After a quick pause, Ashlyn continues "I will say though… you might be the one who can't feel their legs". All Ali can respond with is "I think you are right" with a small laugh.

They spend the next few minutes just holding each other before Ali moves her head from Ashlyn's shoulder to start gently kissing her again. They continue slowly, just enjoying how good it feels to be held and to be passionately kissing someone you are starting to care about. While their hands are on each others backs, Ali starts to feel Ashlyn's hands move into her hair, with a little more want and need in her actions.

Ali pulls her lips away from Ashlyn and it takes them both a second for their eyes top open. Ali raises her right hand to tuck hair out of Ashlyn's face behind her ear while they both share content smiles with one another. Ashlyn says quietly, while looking in Ali's eyes, "I could stay in this moment forever with you. You feel so amazing in my arms and I really can't wait to be together one day." Ali's eyes start to glisten over from the heartfelt comments. She never thought she would find someone this amazing and be sharing this much intimacy after a week. She still knows she needs to figure things out so she is 100% all in with Ashlyn before she starts a relationship with her. While she doesn't think she will repeat the same actions as before, she wants to be sure. All she knows is there no where else she would want to be.

"You always know how to say the right things" Ali responds with. "One day soon, I promise. Just know, it's not you that is making me be hesitant, it's my head. You are an such an amazing person, I don't have the words. I can't wait till I can all you mine."

Ashlyn gently rubs Ali's cheek with her thumb. "Well, even if I'm not technically 'yours', I don't plan to be with anyone else. Just wanted to let you know." Ali smiles, knowing what she means, and responds "Good, cause I wasn’t going to share. Me either, by the way."

With that, Ali pushes the blonde back as she repositions herself on top of her. The words to end the moving moment leave her mouth and into Ashlyn's ear with ease "now shut up, it's my turn" followed by a loud moan from underneath her.

Ali doesn't go far and starts kissing behind Ashlyn's ear trying to find her weak spot. From the feel of it, she knows she didn't have to search for long. The fingertips currently being pressed deeply into her back knows she found her answer.  She works her way down the blondes neck, a similar path that was followed on her. She isn't sure how much time she will have as Ashlyn is already moving around under her, trying to find some friction.

She also learns that Ashlyn loves to have attention paid to her breasts as well. Never taking her eyes from Ashlyn's eyes, she dips her head and lightly uses the tip of her tongue to trace around her nipple before gently flicking it. The moan she hears from this action was one of the loudest she has ever heard but she doesn't have much time to take stock in it. She feels a large hand come behind her head and push her whole mouth over the erect nipple. That alone makes Ali moan as well, doing as she is directed. Whichever breast she is not sucking on, she is making sure to palm and caress them, making Ashlyn squirm.

Slowly, Ali kisses down Ashlyn's stomach and stops to lick where she had recently come on her. Ashlyn lifts her head up to watch her cleaning up her own pleasure that spilled out. Ali hears Ashlyn's head hit the pillow and a groan "my god woman, you are killing me." That makes Ali giggle and lightly slap the blonde's hip as she pulls herself back up so they are face to face.

"Does that mean you want me to stop?" Ali asks with an eyebrow quirked. Ashlyn opens one eye and pants out "no, that means I'm about to pass out I'm so turned on". Ali has a look like she is contemplating something and responds "so I guess you don't want me to do this?" At that moment, she runs two fingers through Ashlyn's drenched core and she gets her answer when the blonde arches her back up, almost bucking Ali off. Ashlyn wraps her left hand around Ali's neck and pulls her down for a searing kiss, encouraging her fingers to continue to explore.

As the kiss breaks, she looks into Ali's eyes and pleads with her, "please, I need you so bad." Ali is unable to deny this woman almost anything at this point. She leans down by her ear and says "anything you want, baby" while plunging the two fingers deep inside. She knows Ashlyn isn't going to last long so she does her best to bring her to climax without anymore delay. A few more pumps later, she can feel Ashlyn getting tighter, head thrown back, fingers digging deep into Ali's side and she screams out her orgasm. Ali slows her fingers down but keeps them buried in completely satisfied blonde underneath her.

Not one to be outdone, she gives Ashlyn a quick peck and tells her to get on her knees. The blonde opens her eyes, is a bit confused, but does as she is told. As she is looking over, Ali slowly rolls on to her back, makes eye contact, and simply taps her chin. A slow smile comes across Ashlyn's face as she knows what she wants. She closes the short distance between the two and careful picks one knee up and straddles Ali's face. Before she lowers herself down, she grabs onto Ali's hands she is holding up to her while shaking her head. "You are always surprising me". Ali shrugs and replies back "I have been waiting to do this to you all morning. Let me enjoy you all over me."

With all that needed to be said, Ashlyn slowly lowers herself down and immediately goes from 0-100 the second she feels Ali's tongue on her. She knows she isn't going to last long, no matter how hard she tries. As she is moving back and forth on her face, she looks down at the brunette below her. She has her eyes closed and actually looks so happy. Ashlyn let's go of Ali's hands and grabs the headboard in front of her. As she does that, she feels the defenders strong arms wrap around her thighs and pull her even further on her face. That was all it took for her to let loose all over her. You both are moaning at the sensations before she has to lift up from being too sensitive.

Ashlyn lowers herself so she is even with Ali and grabs her hand as she is about to wipe off her face with the back of it. "Let me" is all she says to Ali as she leans forward and uses her tongue to clean off what was left of the intense orgasm. After she is done, she leans over again and shares a deep kiss with the brunette, both of you moaning from the taste and the memory of what this morning has brought. The two of you are so exhausted that Ashlyn just snuggles down onto Ali, resting her head on her shoulder.

"Maybe you were right" the blonde quietly says as she throws an arm over Ali's stomach. Ali puts her hand over Ashlyn's arm and lightly traces the tattoos on her arm, "why is that?".

Ashlyn laughs and says "I don't think I can feel my legs right now." With a small peck on Ali's check, Ashlyn settles back into her and they both quickly fall back asleep.

\----- (Ash)

A few hours later, you wake up and remember how everything went the first time you woke up. This time though, you find yourself with a completely satisfied grin on your face. You can feel the brunette starting to move under you so you roll off of her to give her a little space to wake up. As you do this, you hear a mumbled "where are you going, come bacckkkk" off to your side. You turn so you are on your side, looking over at Ali, tracing her side tattoo. She turns her head over and looks at you and smiles before saying, "I should probably get going back to my place seeing how it's almost noon" she chuckles.

You turn your head towards the nightstand and confirm the time and sigh, sad that your time might be over. "I guess we never made it to that coffee" you smirk thinking about the alternative. "Do you want some now?" You say trying to keep her around as long as you can.

Ali just looks at you for a second , thinking, before agreeing. "Yeah, I'll take a cup and then maybe you want to do lunch instead? I'm starving but want to go home and shower first. Somehow, I am starving and dirty." she giggles.

You just shake your head and kiss her forehead and start to get out of bed "coming right up" you let her know. You catch her staring at your naked body and decide to tease her a little, "eyes up here princess". You see her eyes rise up to meet yours as she smiles. You walk around the bed to grab your discarded clothes before leaning over and giving her a much more meaningful kiss before patting her side, telling her "I'll be right back".

As you go into the kitchen you have the biggest smile on your face. You definitely weren't expecting all of this when you were landing in DC. Once you have the water set on the oven, waiting for it to boil, you run to the bathroom to brush your teeth and wash your face. Unfortunately, your timing lets you see her bending over and putting on her thong at the exact minute you hit the threshold of your bedroom. You completely stop and can't stop staring. She obviously heard you coming at some point since her back is still turned while she says "eyes up here, stud".

You plod over and wrap your arms around her waist, hugging her from behind. "Stop doing things like that to me and you won't have to worry" as you kiss the top of her shoulder. You let go of her and continue on to the bathroom and notice her clothes from yesterday folded up on the counter. Another smile comes to your face. You walk out with them in your hand and offer "do you want a pair of sweats and a sweatshirt to wear home so you don't have to wear the same stuff as yesterday?"

Ali looks at you liked you just saved a kitten, "Really? Are you sure?"

"C'mon Ali, you live like a block away from me. I can narrow down where you live and hunt you down to get them back".

"Whatever" she says as she rolls her eyes. You didn’t even wait for her response as you were already grabbing some things for her. When you hand her a stack of clothes that consist of sweats, sweatshirt, t-shirt, and socks, she leans forward, thanking you with a peck. "You may or may not get these back, that hasn't been decided." This time it's you that rolls your eyes, "don't worry princess, I didn't give you the good ones."

The whistle on the kettle goes off in the kitchen so you run back out there to finish making the coffee. As you are pouring the black magic into cups, you catch her out of the corner of her eye leaning on the door frame. Even though she is just in sweats with her hair up in a bun, she still makes your breath hitch.

"Since I am an expert of how you take your coffee, I obviously haven't been home so really can only offer some almond milk. Is that ok?" you say shrugging while holding it up for her to see. She lifts herself off the frame and grabs it from you, "I guess that will do" hip checking you out of the way.

When she is done making hers, you grab her pinky of her right hand and pull her to the table you shared your first meal at last night. Before she has a chance to sit, you pull the chair out for her so you can face her as you share your coffee. You love the ease you fall back into, acting like you didn't just share the morning tangled together. The both of you laughing and telling random things about the neighborhood, playing with each others hands and fingers a few times during the conversation.

Two cups of coffee later, she finally stands up and declares she is leaving. "I know you are trying to hold me hostage, but I will see you in like an hour. I know you can survive."

You stand up as well, taking her cup and placing it back into the sink. "I guess, we will see."

The only awkwardness that appears this morning is when you are both standing at the door. You aren't sure how to navigate things as the bubble you two built around you is about to burst. She leans up and wraps her arms around your neck. Out of instinct, you wrap your arms around her waist and breath in her scent, your favorite scent. She gives you a soft kiss but pulls away before either one of you can deepen it and you both end up in a naked heap again.

"Thank you again for all of this" she gestures toward your apartment. "I had a really good time with you and even though I'm going to see you really soon, I just wanted to tell you that before I leave."

You smile at her, waiting to speak since it looks like something is on the tip of her tongue.

She dips her head, before softly looking into your eyes "I really like you."

What else can you say to that besides "you took the words right out of my mouth"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Back to non-exciting, tension building fun moving forward for a bit.
> 
> Thanks for the vote of confidence on the last few chapters :)
> 
> Thoughts/Comments?


	12. Don't Fuck This Up Krieger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The lunch after... and getting some insight from big brother.
> 
> One section in italics is Ashlyn having a flashback to earlier. 
> 
> Back to the slow burn.... :)

\----- (Ali)

Ali walks into her house and just leans against the door as soon as she closes it behind her. She closes her eyes and sighs. On one hand, she can't believe she lost control of her body like that. She never has been the type to sleep around or just have casual sex with practical strangers. Yes, it's happened but not since college and really only when she was coming to terms with her sexuality. She would meet girls at bars and go home with them to see if what she felt was real. Well, she found out fairly quickly it was and she hasn't turned back since.

It was different with Ashlyn, at least she hopes so. Something awoke in her, even just from sitting by her at the airport. At that point, it was just a really hot girl, but then she got to know her. She knows there are so many more layers and she can't wait to learn more. She knows she is in deep for this girl, especially after the mind-blowing sex. She can't believe she basically turned into a nympho back there but then she thinks about Ashlyn's skilled fingers and tongue.

She finally makes her way over to her couch and shoots a text to Kyle.

_Ali: hey bb!_

_Kyle: what's up, sis? I text you last night but never heard back. Here I was thinking you were out on the town gettin' it on._

_Ali: very funny but maybe not so much out on the town…_

_Kyle: spill. now._

_Ali: come over for dinner tonight?_

_Kyle: YOU ARE KILLING ME!!!!!_

_Kyle: I need something before tonight._

Ali thinks it over for a moment, and decides to twist it in.

_Ali: Ashlyn_

_Ali: that's all you get. Be here at 7. xx_

_Kyle: I hate you. See you later xx_

 

She knows Kyle is going to have a field day with her later but she will deal with him then. But she also knows he will help her in this process to make sure she doesn't self sabotage what could be an amazing thing in her life.

Ali heads up to her bedroom and tries to figure out what to wear to lunch. It's still the middle of winter but now she has someone to look good for, even though she doesn't have too. Ashlyn and her are meeting up at this restaurant off of Wisconsin, a few blocks away, that Ali has been dying to try since she got here.

As much as she needs this shower, she isn't really ready to wash Ashlyn and this morning off of her yet. While getting ready to brush her teeth, a flashback of the blond on her face vividly comes back. She physically has to close her eyes as her body throbs in just the memory.  She never had tasted anything so sweet and the visual that went along with it…god, that woman is so hot. 

She realizes she is never going to make it to lunch at the rate she is going. She finally strips out of Ashlyn's borrowed clothes, making a mental note that she isn't giving them back until she gets to have the blonde's arms surround her body and not her cotton sweatshirt by proxy.

Letting the warm water cascade over body, she starts washing away the rest of the morning. She also realizes how wet she is, again. She groans and says to herself "you definitely have to get yourself under control." She really wants to stay away from just having sex with Ashlyn without exploring some sort of relationship with her. She can see potential with Ashlyn, like forever potential. That scares her more than anything.

When she was with Kate, yes, she loved her but she never felt what she did with Ashlyn, especially a week in. The sex was great, but what she had this morning, she can't even put into words. She can't even imagine what it will be like once they explore their relationship, their feelings grow deeper.

She finally motivates herself to leave the warm water of the shower and get moving. Before she moved in, she had heated floors installed, one of her guilty pleasures she loved from her time in Germany. It definitely helped on cold days like this. After checking her phone, it looks like it's supposed to start snowing later so now that changes her outfit choice. Knowing her warmest coat will be accompanying her today, she settles for a pair of jeans and a black off the shoulder sweater, topped off with a pair of her snow boots, just in case.

Checking the time, she realizes she needs to get her ass gear. She shoots a quick text to Ashlyn saying she might be 5 minutes late. Ashlyn responds quickly with "I wouldn't expect anything less. Princess has a LONG prep time".  Ali she just shakes her head and throws her phone back on the thrown counter, putting the finishing touches on her eyes. She looks at herself in the mirror, takes a deep breath and simple says to herself, "don't fuck this up Krieger".

 

\----- (Ash)

 

You are heading over to the restaurant when you get the text that Ali's running late. You cant say you are shocked since you figure only giving her an hour might be a bit tight, but also wondering if she was also still processing what happened this morning. She isn't the only one …

_As soon as the door closed, you went back into your bedroom and the heavy smell of sex hit you. You just fall face first into your bed, clutching the pillow you had Ali's head shoved into few hours ago. A massive smile comes across your face just thinking about how crazy she drove you and vice versa. You aren't sure when you have ever had that intense of an orgasm as you did this morning. There is something about Ali Krieger that intrigues you to no end._

_You roll over so you are staring at the ceiling and start running through different scenarios in your head. The most prevalent being 'what happens if she freaks out about this morning or when she gets to know you better and sees all your flaws?'  That's partially why you don't let people in, so people can't judge your shitty childhood and take pity on you. You are also scared but you know she likes you but does she have as strong of feelings like you do? You don't know what falling in love feels likes but if it consists of your stomach flip flopping, filled with butterflies, just thinking about her, you know you are already in too deep._

_As much as you want to take things slow with her, you aren't sure if you can control yourself. All you want is to have some part of your body touching her at all times. This morning when drinking coffee together, how your fingers would just find their way too each other and intertwine. Something so small, you never thought twice about now makes you hungry, like you have been starved your entire life._

Since you have an extra five minutes to spare, you take the long way around and spot something that will probably be over the top, but you would hate yourself for not doing it.

You opt to wait for her outside, even though it's way too cold for your Florida blood. You probably could have dressed warmer, but sometimes you make sacrifices. You only stared at your closest for a good twenty minutes before settling on a red plaid shirt over a black t-shirt, pair of black pants and your boots.

You happen to look up from the ground, right as she turns the corner.

 

\----- (Ali)

 

A smile comes to Ashlyn's face as she see's the brunette lift her head up to meet her eyes. As Ali is about to her, Ashlyn pushes off the wall, her hands behind her back.

"Why aren't you inside, you will freeze out here!?" Ali basically yells at her from a few feet away.

Ashlyn shakes her head and laughs, "well, this was the true test, if your beauty was worth my frostbite. Luckily, you made it in the nick of time." At this point they are facing each other, like an hour earlier, unsure how they proceed. 

"So, um, I got this for you" Ashlyn nervously says while she brings around her right hand , clutching a potted orchid. "I was walking by and it caught my eye, thought it was beautiful and unique than the others that were in the window" shrugging "I don't know, it made me think of you. Sorry if it's stupid, I can keep it".

Ali reaches out to the hand holding the flower "no one has ever given me something like this before, free of agenda and just because someone thought of me. There is no way you are taking this back." She takes the pot from Ashlyn's hand and uses her free to reach for her Ashlyn's now free hand. She had never seen Ashlyn other than oozing confidence, this nervous side was extremely endearing. Giving a soft squeeze, "you always say I'm surprising you? Well, Ashlyn Harris, you may have just taken the cake." With that, Ali reaches up and gives a soft, yet meaningful kiss on Ashlyn's cheek. "Should we get you out of this cold? Your face is frozen!" she chuckles while releasing her hand. Ashlyn realizes she had shut her eyes, opening them again she tells the amazing woman in front of her "if my face was frozen, it wouldn't be able to have this big of a smile right now."

Ashlyn turns around and grabs the handle of the door and opens it for Ali to walk through. Even though she has a heavy coat on, Ali can feel Ashlyn's hand on her lower back, ushering her into the warm space. They make their way to a table out of the way so they can actually have a conversation, as well as stay out of the view of anyone that might want to bother them. Ali goes to take off her coat but can feel the pull of another set of hands helping her. Ashlyn takes Ali's coat and hangs it on the wall beside their table, right after she pulls the chair out for her to sit in. Ali loves to see this gentle side of Ashlyn compared to how fierce she is on the field. That's the first thing that drew her in and she loves being the center of someone's attention.

They both look over the menu after the waitress greets them and gets their drinks. Neither of them had been there before so they settled on a couple of sandwiches before really starting the conversation.

"I still can't believe you got me this pretty orchid" Ali says while staring at the flower sitting on their table. "The true test will be if I keep it alive" she chuckles while taking a sip of water.

Ashlyn looks at it, then back to Ali "I mean, if you need someone to come over every day and take care of it, I'd be happy too" she says with a wink.

"Oh really? You sure that isn't your round about way to say you want to come over every day and take care of me?" Ali says with a raises eye brow.

A deep laugh comes from Ashlyn's throat as she responds "hey, you are the one that said it. Plus, I'm sure you wouldn't mind it if this morning was any indication." 

Ali put her head in hands while shaking it back and forth, "I walked right into that one" not giving the blonde the satisfaction of an answer. She figures the red cheeks she is now sporting have given enough away.

"Anyway, what do you have going on this week?" Ali attempts to change the subject while sipping her hot tea, trying to stay warm.

"Starting to step up training seeing how the pre-season starts next month and as you know, a few more friendlies on the calendar. I gotta put in the extra work to stay #1 for this summer" Ashlyn finishes with a shrug.

"If you ever need someone to train with, let me know. Obviously, I'm not in shape anymore but would definitely take advantage of some gym time." Ali offers.

"Trust me, you are in shape" Ashlyn basically declares, that it's not open for discussion. "I would love for you to come work with my trainer. I always go harder when having someone to push me. I'll check my schedule when I get home and forward it over."

Ali can tell she means it and it isn't some pity invite. She is happy that while she hasn't stepped foot on a pitch to play again, she does have confidence in herself and her knee that she can definitely go hard in the gym. That was never the issue.

Ashlyn pulls her out of her mind when she sees her starting to drift away. "Other than that, just probably hang with some friends. It's always the quiet before the storm", referring to the time before the season starts. Ali nods in agreement as she does know the life of a professional. "What about you fancy sports reporter? Any big plans?" Ashlyn asks.

"Oh yeah, huge plans." She chuckles "My brother is coming over for dinner to grill me why I didn't respond to his texts last night, so there is that."

Ashlyn gets a little more serious "Uh oh, should I be worried?"

In what would be the best or worst timing, depending on who you ask, Ali sees a familiar face walking into the restaurant and her face drops. Under her breath, she says only loud enough for Ashlyn to hear "you gotta be kidding me."

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" she hears right as she sees that Ashlyn is turning around to see what's happening. Even before an introduction, she can see the resemblance and a small smirk comes to her face as she looks back at Ali.

"Hey Kyle. What are you doing here? I thought you had to prep for your shoot?" Ali says, hoping to get him to leave sooner than later.

"Already done" he says with a dismissive flick of his wrist. "So are you going to introduce me to your friend Alex or you just going to be rude?"

She rolls her eyes since she knows he totally knows it's Ashlyn as they have discussed her before and he looked her up.

"Kyle, this is my friend Ashlyn, Ashlyn this is my brother, Kyle" she gestures between them. Ashlyn extends her hand out to him and adds with a smile "nice to meet you Kyle, we were just talking about you".

He looks between the two of them before responding while looking at Ali, "is that so? Hmmm, and what bad things were you saying about me?"

"That you are a horrible big brother that was leaving cause I am going to see you later tonight." Ali responds with her eye brows both raised at him.

"Yeah, yeah, don't get your panties in a bunch" he responds while Ashlyn almost spits out the water in her mouth. That earns her a look from him that basically says 'I know more than you think I know about you and my sister'. "Well, Ashlyn, it was nice to meet you before my rude sister sent me away. I'm sure I'll be seeing you again." as he winks and places a hand on her shoulder. Ashlyn just smiles up at him and simply responds "you can bet on that."

He turns on his heels and says "bye bb!" over his shoulder as he goes back to the table his friend sat down at.

"Ugh, yeah, so that's my brother Kyle" Ali barely gets out through her laugh.

"So, Alex, eh? How did I not know about that one?" Ashlyn asks with a smirk.

"My family calls me Alex and a few close friends I've know forever." Ali shrugs like its no big deal.

Ashlyn ponders for a second before responding, "maybe I'll get the honor of calling you Alex one day" finishing with a dimpled smile. Ali reaches across the table and places her hand over Ashlyn's hand. "That's a guarantee. In fact, if you called me that now, I wouldn't mind". They both share a heartfelt smile while Ali squeezes her hand before pulling it back in her lap.

About that time, their food comes and they both eat in relative silence minus a few comments on how good everything is. As they are finishing up, Ali asks if she wants to come over for breakfast on Saturday morning and they can watch the EPL matches. Ashlyn looks at her like she has two heads "you mean you want me to get out of my warm bed and traipse over in this cold tundra to watch football?! You must have lost your mind." Ali giggles at Ashlyn's over the top dramatics. "Well, if I'm not worth it to you… Maybe I should just ask you to water my orchid instead since apparently you'll take care of that every day."  Ashlyn just groans before answering "we'll see", which both of you know translates into a yes.

Ali notices the time and realizes she needs to run to the market to get stuff for Kyle's dinner tonight. "Would you hate me if I have to cut our afternoon short?" she asks, smiling a cheeky smile. Ashlyn looks at her, tapping her fingers on the table "hmm, I think I'm getting short changed with only a two hour lunch" ending with a smile. "I'll be right back, just gonna run to the restroom." 

What Ashlyn is really doing is tracking down the waitress to pay the bill so it doesn't even come to the table for them to argue over. At the same time, back at the table, Ali is checking her phone to see Kyle had text three times.

_Kyle: you so did it with her!!! I could see your heart eyes the second I walked in the door._

_Kyle: by the way, she is GORGEOUS in person._

_Kyle: am I right?!? Omg.answer me Alexxxxx_

She shakes her head. He knows she always is checking her phone so she loves how riled up he got that she didn't answer him. Tonight should be fun, she thinks to herself.

Ashlyn returns to the table and grabs Ali's jacket from the wall. "Ready?" she asks, while looking down at her holding the jacket open for her to step into. A confused look comes over Ali's face, she points to the waitress "we still have to pay. I'm way too old for dine and dash."

"It's all taken care of, princess", smiling and nodding towards her jacket.

"Ash, that's not fair" a deep laugh comes out of Ashlyn responding, "well life isn't fair is it?

With a raised eyebrow, Ali understands the irony of that comment and just smiles and shakes her head. "Next time it's mine, ok?" She says with a serious face.

As Ali is sliding her arms through the jacket that Ashlyn is holding open for her, she hears in her ear "well, apparently I'm getting breakfast on Saturday so I was just pre-paying".  Ali pulls her jacket around her shoulder, turning around to Ashlyn, dead pans her response "nice try."

They get outside and they start walking down the street in the direction of Ashlyn's house and the market Ali needs to go by. When they get to their crossroads, they both stop and sigh. A light snow starting to fall. Ashlyn looks up in the sky while holding her hands out to feel the flakes, "I'll never like the snow, no matter how long I live here."

Ali just stares at the blonde, taking in her beauty and pure simplicity of the act.  When Ashlyn drops her head back down, she catches the brunette's eyes staring back at her. Her lips start to curl up while she asks "what?" Ali leans forward to hug her and whispers in her ear while holding her, "maybe you just haven't had a good reason to like it." As Ali pulls back from the hug, she places a soft kiss on the keeper's lips while she feels the strong hands on her hips grip her tighter.

Ali takes a step back while she places a hand on Ashlyn's chest "now you can think of that whenever it snows, hopefully you will like it a tad more." A massive smile comes to Ashlyn's face "are you sure you have to go shopping, cause I could use more persuasion to like it." 

Ali shakes her head, "not a chance" patting her chest.  Ashlyn just shrugs, "had to give it the ol' college try. Have a good dinner with your brother." She leans forward and gives her another quick hug and a kiss on her temple.

They both go to walk away, but Ali hears her name being called from just past where they were standing. "Hey Al" she sees the blonde turned around, the obvious source. "For what's it worth, this was probably one of the best days I've had in a really long time. Thank you for that." Ashlyn finishes, gives a smile and turns away, leaving Ali standing in the middle of a busy sidewalk holding a beautiful orchid, while her heart flutters and tries to get the air that just got knocked out of her gut, back into her body.

 

\----- (Ali)

 

She was exhausted by the time it came time to cook for her brother. Luckily, she knew this was going to be the case and had already decided they could just make a pizza or two and let it cook while she gets grilled. She was happy to have gotten a little nap in while watching some tv, obviously paying the price for an active morning. Of course, she fell asleep wishing the blondes arms were wrapped around her instead of the blanket she had been tucked into. It's like a drug, she had a taste and now that's all she wants. She knew it was going to be like that, so she has no one to blame but herself. It's not just a game of her own will power and now it's how long it will hold up.

Walking into the kitchen to pour a glass a wine, cause let's be honest, she is going to need it to deal with the interrogation, she hears her phone buzz. She takes a look and sees its an email from Ashlyn with her training schedule for the week. The only thing added in the body of the email was a quick note, "hope you can come with me to at least one of these. I want to see what you got." She smiles, rereading the simple invitation. As she goes to continue her mission for wine, there is a knock at the door. She mumbles to herself, "ugh, I'm so not ready for this."

When she opens the door, Kyle is leaning against the door frame, with a full-on smirk. "Ugh, I hate you Ky" she says turning around to walk into the kitchen, leaving him standing there. "I need wine tonight, sorry".

"Hunny, if you weren't drinking I would be worried. Go ahead and get your courage, I ain't going anymore" he says while he sits down at one of the bar stools in the kitchen. She just shakes her head while pouring a large glass of red. She puts the pizza in the oven and is obviously trying to stall by tidying up little things in the kitchen.

"Alex. Get your ass over here now and spill. I'm going to be grey at the pace you are going." Kyle tells her while flipping his invisible hair over his shoulder. She finally sits, facing him "where should I begin?"

"Well, the last thing you told me was that you had this amazing moment in LA, kissed her and you were developing feelings for her but are scared" Kyle basically recapping their conversation from the other day.

Ali takes a deep breath and jumps in with two feet.

"So I surprised her at the airport…" is all she could get put before he slams his head into the counter. She always loves his flair for the dramatics, her giggles filling the kitchen. With his head still down, you hear a mumbled "continue" with his hand in the air making an encouraging gesture.

"Well, before we left the airport, I invited her over to my place to get some dinner but we ended up deciding on her place since I knew she was tired. She fell asleep before we even got out of the airport, with her hand on my leg." Kyle lifts his head up enough to look her in the eyes, seeing her beaming smile.

"The funny part, she lives like a block from here" pointing over her shoulder. Anyway, so I was trying to wake her as we got close, since I didn't know her exact address. Well, that hand that was on my leg?" Ali just gestures down to her lower half, "let's just say when I tried to wake her up, she unconsciously shifted it up, like as far as it would go" her eyes getting bigger by the end of the sentence.

Kyle puts his head back down and is shaking it "I can only imagine how this is going to go".

"Anyway, as we are about to go in her place, she's like blah blah, it's messy. Of course, me being me, I try to joke back about as long as there isn't a girl in there or someone's underwear besides yours, we are good. Wellllll, she got all serious, telling me she just got out of a relationship, but it didn't really mean anything." Ali gets serious and Kyle can tell by her voice that this is a turning point, so he sits up straight again, looking into his sister's eyes, encouraging her to continue.

"Ky, she told me how she feels so much for me already, like it's nothing she has felt before. Basically telling me we can work through everything together to get to the other side." Ali gets through that, but has tears starting to form in her eyes.

Kyle reaches over and holds her hand with a light squeeze while letting her know "Alex, she sounds like you, like you both are feeling the same thing and can tell it could be something really special." Ali just smiles back at him, wiping away a tear, "I know."

At that point, the oven timer goes off to break the heavy moment. Ali goes over to get the pizza out and grabbing some plates for them. Once they get their food, they settle on the couch to eat dinner and finish the conversation.

"So, she says all that stuff and I can't even think at that moment so I just walk into her place." Ali sighs heavily "and when she walked in, I told her she is all I can think about and she is all I want."

After the words left Ali's mouth, Kyle just falls backwards, deep into the couch. "Who are you and what did you do to my sister?! I love this take charge side, it's like the Alex of old, full of confidence, taking what she wants" Kyle finishes while sitting forward again.

"Well, don't be too excited…" Ali continues "we totally start making out, I mean, I'm basically trying to fuck her in the hallway of her apartment before she tells me to stop."

Kyle gasps "SHUT UP! She told you to stop? What the fuck is that about?!"

Ali just laughs at her brothers response, thinking back on what hers was at that time, "I know, right! When I look back now, she is just a good person, she wanted to stop cause she didn't want me to regret it. She knew how conflicted I was about everything and wanting to work through my shit. Ky, how many people would do that in that situation? I know if the shoe was on the other foot, I wouldn't have stopped."

Kyle laughs at the last thing she said "hunny, you haven't gotten laid in years, nothing would stop you at this point."

She just rolls her eyes, knowing just how true that is.

"Anyway, we had dinner and attempted to watch a movie but we both fell asleep on the couch. At some point, she carried me to her bed, which I of course, don't remember any of that." Kyle quirks his eye brow as she continues to recount the night.

"Remember how you said nothing would stop me…" she finally says.

Kyle's eyes get huge, "omg, what did you do?"

"I took what I wanted" she says with the most confident smile he has seen in years.

Kyle basically jumps off the couch, scaring the shit of her. "I never thought I would be this excited that my sister finally got off". Ali just puts her head in her hands and mumbles "multiple times".

"Alex! Look at you, you are such a little sex fiend." Kyle says while going to get them more pizza from the kitchen. As he is coming back in, he asks "so where are things now? You obviously haven't completely run away since you were at lunch, which also explains your heart eyes toward her when I saw you there." shaking his finger in her face as he sits down.

She sighs, "obviously, I like her, a lot, and want to see how things go. I kinda just want to get to know her better as a friend before jumping into a full blown relationship." she shrugs "I mean, I am not sure how I am going to stay away from her after this morning, but I'm going to try." she gets a littler quieter, sits her plate down and starts playing with her hands.

"I feel like I'm already falling in love with her and I have known her a week. It's scary but exciting at the same time. I have never felt anything close to this before. I mean, I was daydreaming earlier about being married to her and carrying her babies, what the fuck is that about?" running her hands through her hair after verbalizing her inner most thoughts.

Kyle can feel the shift in their conversation going from joking to serious. He sits his plate down and scoots close enough to Ali to pull her into him.

"I think you need to take it one day at a time. You don't want to build her or the relationship up before it even starts. Listening to everything you have told me about her, from the start, you aren't alone in your feelings, since she has basically said the same thing. Just talk to her, be honest, open yourself, but don't jump into anything until you are ready to give her 100% of your heart." He pauses for a second before continuing, "I am so proud of you for coming this far. I know how hard everything is and maybe this is the last piece of the puzzle to help you completely heal."

Ali smiles at the last part, knowing she has thought the same thing. Maybe being with someone who knows first hand when you dedicate your life to a sport, how it becomes your identity, what it could feel like to have it all taken away in an instant. Maybe Ashlyn can help her finally cross the bridge that has held her back from living life to the fullest and in that, maybe find her forever happy ending.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> eh, not exactly the best but wanted to get something up before the long weekend. Probably won't have anything new until next week (unless get some unexpected time to write).


	13. Mirrors

\----- (Ali)

After a great heart to heart the night before with Kyle, she was really taking what he said seriously. She wants to open herself up and be vulnerable, especially with Ashlyn. She decides there is no better time than now and opened up her phone, read over training email Ashlyn had sent the day before, and decided to go for it.  As she looks through the schedule, she thinks she will try and go to on Thursday, and then play it by ear. She noticed that Ashlyn had a session this morning, well, actually right now so she takes the opportunity to text her.

 _Ali: Hey! Thanks for sending over the schedule. Do you think I can do Thursday with you?_  

She waits a few minutes, debating whether to send the next text 

_Ali: It was weird not talking to you yesterday, is that weird? :)_

She will probably regret sending that but in the meantime, she has bigger things to worry about.

For the first time since she has been home, she is going to do a short segment during the ESPN FC show. Her part of the show is a five minute run down on the World Cup and possible roster selections that are being made in a month or so. Yesterday she worked on going through the roster and watching some old games to try and pick her top picks. She found it somewhat cathartic watching the games and decided she was ready to try and open up to Ashlyn about that part of her life. It's the first step on her journey towards being with her, and she doesn't want to waste any more time.

She has a set-up in her office that consists of a camera that she turns on and is automatically connected to Bristol. She has discovered the best part of doing these remotes is that she can be in sweats from the waist down, only having to look good for the camera view. She has about an hour before she goes live, so she showers and eats some breakfast before reviewing her notes. When she is about to go make sure everything is working correctly, she hears her phone vibrate. 

 _Ash: Hey you! :)_  

 _Ash: That's awesome about Thursday. Come over around 930 and we can go together…if you want._  

 _Ash: Was it weird I missed you? :-)_  

A big smile comes across her face. She debates texting back after her segment, but she is too giddy to wait.

_Ali: Sounds like a plan. About to jump on ESPN FC. Wish me luck._

_Ali: I missed you too. :-)_

_Ash:  You don't need luck. You will do amazing. X_  

She audibly swooned reading that, especially seeing that kiss at the end. It oddly made her relax more. She hadn't really realized that she was nervous until that last text came through. She left her phone in the kitchen, walking away with a smile to do her segment. 

\----- (Ali)

After you got the text that Ali was going to be on ESPN FC, you decided to wait and shower after the show was on. You were starving from training so decided to power down a smoothie while you waited. After a few minutes, you heard Ali's name get announced and looked up to the tv to see the stunning woman staring back at you in HD. The smile that comes to your face is one of pride as you are hanging on every word.

She is so beautiful, like effortlessly beautiful. It killed you not texting her yesterday. You had gone out with friends, but all you thought about was Ali. Your friends even noticed that your mind was somewhere else. After you filled them in that Rachel was no longer around, which no one was surprised, you told them you met someone but are just taking it slow right now. All your friends know when to press you on something and when not too. They could easily tell you weren't ready so you all just enjoyed dinner and drinks, cause drinking down your feelings is what the Harris' do best.

Through the tv you hear "In terms of keepers, I am definitely going with Ashlyn Harris as the #1. Seeing her in camp and the game last week, I think she is just a step ahead and really focused right now. Once the NWSL season starts, we should see her reaction timing get more fine tuned and really be unstoppable."

Your mouth is slightly open listening to this woman gush about you. Yes, she is being professional and not saying anything that would seem like favoritism, but she is saying these things about you. She believes in you. You make a promise then and there, you are never going to let her down. 

_Ash: Thank you for believing in me._

You want her to know how much you appreciate her words. You couldn't keep it to yourself. You don't care when it comes to her, you want to be an open book.

After you get out of the shower and settle down on the couch for some quiet time, you notice you have two messages on your phone.

 _Ali: You watched?! :)_  

 _Ali: I will always believe in you. Don't you EVER doubt that._  

You clutch your phone to your chest for a minute, close your eyes, and make a promise to yourself. You are going to fight for this woman, come hell or high water.

\----- (Ali)

Thursday morning comes way too early. She curses herself for committing to going to work out with Ashlyn. She's always has been a morning person, but today, she just wants to lay in bed under the covers. It snowed last night so everything is just covered in a layer of white goodness.

She ran yesterday morning with her brother, who spent half of it critiquing her outfit choice from the remote she did on ESPN. Apparently, she needs to wear red he tells her 'It will make her skin tone pop'. She just rolls her eyes at him. The pros and cons of having a gay brother.

A few text exchanges yesterday with Ashlyn made her smile. Nothing huge, just a text to say hi or of the blonde trying to persuade her to come over to make her like the snow more. 

She eats something lite and had a cup of coffee before walking the block and a half over to Ashlyn's place. She barely knocked twice when the door swung open. There stands Ashlyn, a sleeveless shirt, compression shorts and pair of longer soccer shorts over them. She knows her mouth dropped open but thankfully, she doesn't think Ashlyn minds. 

"C'mon in! I just need to grab a sweatshirt and get my shoes on".  Ashlyn tells her, while ushering her in.

Once she is all the way in, Ashlyn helps her take off her coat and hang it by the door.

"It's so beautiful out, have you seen everything covered in white?" She asks her while taking off her snow boots before going much further in.  

Ashlyn was waiting patiently for her to finish taking her shoes off to completely welcome her. 

"I did and I agree. It's all beautiful when I'm inside and enjoying the warmth." She chuckles while stepping toward her. 

A smile comes to her face as she wraps her arms around Ashlyn's neck to give her a hug. While they are pulled tightly, Ashlyn whispers, "I missed you." 

She pulls her tighter and says "me too." As they are untangling from the hug , they move just far enough back to see clearly into each other's eyes. "I told you, I would help you like the snow more" she says as she closes the distance between the two of them. Their lips are barely touching but the amount of electricity buzzing between them is palpable. Before letting it get deep, she pulls away from the blonde, giving a short peck.

Ashlyn's eyes are closed, as she slowly opens them, she sees her beautiful brown eyes looking back at her and offers up, "Can we skip training and just stay here all day?"

"Yeah, no. I would have stayed at home then. We are going." she says while the blonde just groans. "Fine" Ashlyn sighs "let me get my food and my shoes " 

"You ready to show me what you got?" Ashlyn asks while finishing tying her shoes, walking into the kitchen. 

"I'm not sure you are ready to see what I got" she says as she smacks Ashlyn's ass as she goes by her. 

"Ouch! Be gentle, I'm fragile."

That only spurs her on into the kitchen, stepping about an inch away from Ashlyn's face "not from what I've seen", her right hand falling on to the blonde's waist. Ashlyn takes a step forward, while she takes a step backwards,  basically flat up against the counter. Ashlyn's hands fall next to her hips, bracing herself against the counter, their bodies flush. 

"Maybe I like it a little rough" Ashlyn breathes out on to her lips, eyes focused straight into hers. She can't contain herself and takes her left hand and grabs Ashlyn's neck and pulls their lips together. She can feel Ashlyn's moan deep in her throat when she runs her tongue across her lips. The one hand she had on Ashlyn's hip dips back to her ass pulls her deeply into her. They both can feel this escalating quickly so Ashlyn goes to take a step back from her, this time the moan coming from the brunette due to the lack of contact.

She mumbles out on Ashlyn's lips, "that was all your fault". She can feel the blonde's lips curl into a smile before whispering back "you were the one that smacked my ass. You know I can't control myself around you" giving her a quick peck before pushing off the counter.

Ashlyn just looks over at her, paralyzed against her counter. Ali lifts her hands to run over her face, to get her mind back to having to work out in 30 minutes. When she finally lowers them and opens her eyes, Ashlyn is leaning up against the fridge across from her, smirking, before adding "do we need to stop back by your place for you to change?" she gets a furrowed brow, confused by the question. Before Ashlyn continues, she runs her eyes down her body, getting back to her eyes "I just wasn't sure if you were as turned on as I am right now and those tights might give it away." Ashlyn takes a bite of her banana and walks out of the kitchen. All she hears from the kitchen while she is grabbing her coat is "I'll get you back for that Harris, don't you worry."

She makes her way to the front entry way and sees Ashlyn holding her coat open for her to step into. "C'mon princess, you are going to make us late." She just rolls her eyes and sighs, wondering what she is getting herself into. 

Once they are in Ashlyn's car and starting their 15 minute drive to the gym, Ashlyn rest her right elbow on the arm rest, arm extended with palm open. A few seconds later, Ali notices this and interlaces her left hand and pulls Ashlyn's hand to rest on her lap. They make some small talk about the last few days as they wind through the snow covered streets. 

Before they walk in, Ashlyn turns to her, showing signs of the girl she started to bare her soul to on the beach in LA. "Al, if you don't feel comfortable, or if anything hurts, tell me immediately and we will go, ok?" She gets a soft smile on her face, blown over by the amount of concern Ashlyn feels for her and simply nods her understanding. 

"Promise?" Ashlyn asks with a raised brow, giving her hand a light squeeze . She takes their intertwined hands to her lips, kisses them before answering, "promise". 

\----- (Ash)

As you and Ali walk into your gym, you immediately notice Chris, your trainer. 

"Hey buddy, what's up?" you shout over to him as he is finishing up with his previous client. 

"Just getting ready to work your ass today." He chuckles as he walks over and gives you a one armed hug. "Is this the unlucky victim you were talking about bringing?" 

This time, all three of you laugh, Ali sticking out her hand to shake Chris' while introducing herself, "guilty. I'm Ali." 

"Chris. Ash told me that you used to play so you should be fairly familiar with some of the drills we are going to do today. Let me know if there is anything specific you want to work on or anything you want to skip, ok?" 

"Got it. I came here for a 'ball busting' workout she told me I was going to get. I think she was trying to scare me away, it obviously didn't work" pointing in your direction. 

You chuckle, patting her on the back "talk to me afterwards". 

Chris ends up running Ali through most of the same drills you are going through. To say you are impressed is an understatement. There is no way this girl hasn't played in 3 years. She is fit, unbelievably so. There has been more than one time you got busted staring at her while she did some squats or weighted pulls down the track. 

You are finishing up and walk over to where Ali is sitting, switching her shoes out and throwing on her sweatshirt. You sit down next to her, "so?" 

"Oh my god Ash, it felt so good to be back out there, doing those types of drills. I hope you don't mind…" She pauses, bites her bottom lip "I told Chris I wanted to come back a few times a week." You can see she is excited but not wanting to step on your toes.

"That's amazing! I'm so happy! So, you gonna be my new workout buddy?"  You ask hopefully. 

"If you don't mind? I would prefer to workout with you, you push me and plus, who else is going to be staring at my ass while I'm doing squats?" Ali gives a wink in your direction. 

"I have no clue what your talking about" you quickly reply while standing back up. 

"Mirrors babe, mirrors" she says while she walks by you. 

How do you keep getting busted by this woman? You thought you were all smooth, apparently not. You watched the game from last weekend to watch Ali in action. Clear as day, in the background, you can see yourself completely stop your stretching , staring, and your mouth was basically on the ground.  

You pull yourself out if your thoughts and catch up to her, throwing on the rest of your jacket and beanie on as you make way to the car. On the drive back home, you work up the nerve to ask her what you wanted to since you saw her this morning.

"So, my friends and I are going to a show tomorrow night and, I, um wanted to see if you wanted to go?" you nervously get out. Before letting her answer, you make sure to note "not a date! Just as, I guess, whatever this is right now. I know we aren't at the first date stage yet and frankly, I got something better up my sleeve for that." you finally finish rambling so she can answer you.

Ali is just looking at you, stifling a laugh. "You are adorable when you are nervous, you know that?" 

You just shake your head.

"So, who's playing? I need all the details before I just blindly say yes to you." she smiles at you, waiting for your answer.

"Alexi Murdoch? You heard of him?" She shakes her head no when you name him, so you continue. "He's super chill and playing this small venue downtown, seems like something you may like, you know based off my extremely limited knowledge of your musical tastes." you laugh thinking how you really can only think of twice you have heard music with her. 

"Sure, that would be fun." she shrugs. "This doesn't get you out of breakfast bright and early Saturday"  patting your leg at the gentle reminder. 

You just groan, "I was hoping this would make me exempt." 

All of a sudden, it's like a light bulb goes off "you said with your friends?" she asks, shifting so she can see you better from the passenger seat.

You just nod your head "yeah, is that ok? It's only going to be a couple of them and they aren't really involved in the soccer world to gossip about this", pointing between you two.

"Oh it's more than fine… I was just realizing I can get some dirt on you!" she tells you way more excited than she should be.

"Don't get your hopes up. They have all been sworn to secrecy." you say back in the most serious voice you can muster. 

"Well, they haven't met the Krieger charm" ending that discussion as she turns back forward. You chuckle to yourself thinking, she has a point. It knocked you on your ass in no time flat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a little shorter than originally planned. Was going to include the Friday night out but decided to keep that separate since it was getting lengthy (and emotional). :)
> 
> Comments/Thoughts?


	14. Stay

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fun night out with friends.

\------ (Ali)

When trying to figure out what to wear to the show tonight, Ali decides to go with a grey knit material dress that is sleeveless and falls right below her knees, finished off with her grey ankle boots. She knows this probably isn't the best dress for the middle of winter, but she wants to look good for her night out. Luckily, as quickly as it snowed, it warmed up the next day to melt it all away to make this even a remote possibility. 

Ashlyn is coming over to her place at 6 so they can Uber to a bar and meet up with her friends before the show. She spent the last few hours making sure her place was spotless since this would be the first time the blonde has been there and wanted to make a good impression. She was already supposed to come over on Saturday morning, so it just made her not procrastinate to the last minute. 

As she is putting the finishing touches on her make-up, she hears the doorbell and immediately gets nervous. She takes a deep breath and heads down her stairs to start her evening. 

As the door opens, her breath hitches at what the blonde has on and how good she looks. There standing in front of her, Ashlyn is sporting tight black cargo like pants, a white button down with the sleeves rolled up, and a bandana tied around her neck. To top it off, she has on a pair of black doc martens and a gray hat, that honestly if it was on anyone else, she would laugh. She can't even get 'hi, come in' out of her mouth and mistakenly mumbles out loud "holy shit". 

Ashlyn is pretty sure she didn't even know it came out, based on the slack jawed brunette standing in front of her. Ashlyn decides to save her, "Not so bad yourself. I don't know how I'm going to survive the night seeing those legs out."

Ali's eyes shoot up to Ashlyn's before inviting her in "oh sorry, in my own world. Come in!", completely oblivious. 

Ashlyn smirks before walking completely into her house, eyes looking around, taking it all in "Al, this place is amazing". Ali dips her head down before meeting the blondes eyes again, a shy smile to her face "thanks that means a lot. I put a ton of work into it before I moved in".

They are less than a foot from one another when Ashlyn takes her right hand and cups Ali's face, pulling it closer "it's not the only thing that looks amazing here". 

Both of them had been craving each other’s touch after their workout yesterday. Something about seeing each other working out got the endorphins running. Unfortunately, Ashlyn had to run off for some previous media engagements as soon as she dropped Ali off, so they weren't able to flirt and banter back and forth like they both secretly look forward too whenever they are together. 

Closing the distance between them, Ashlyn tenderly kisses the brunettes lips before Ali snakes her arms around her waist to deepen it slightly. Apparently, they are also a little turned on from the outfit choices for the night. After briefly touching tongues, paired with roaming hands, Ali pulls away, eyes still closed, recognizing that her heart skips a beat, every damn time. 

She finally opens them to see Ashlyn doing the same. "Mmmm, I really enjoy kissing you" she tells the blonde. A genuine smile forms on Ashlyn's face before replying, thumb running over Ali's cheek "I'm pretty sure I could do that for hours." 

"I'll take a rain check on that" she smiles to the blonde while patting her chest. "Do you want the five minute tour and then we will take off?" Ashlyn nods and starts to follow Ali as she points out different things as they move around the place. When she bought it, she had a few things upgraded before moving in, like the heated floors. She is expecting to be here for the long haul so really wanted somewhere she could love. 

The house, mostly done in muted grey or white tones, has a distinct modern, clean look. What she loved most about the place is a fairly open floor plan with exposed brick and beams through out. 

As they go through the house, Ashlyn is constantly saying how beautiful each room is and how she loves the open spaces, in such a genuine way. As you both pass by the stairs, she notes how you didn't go up them. "What's up there? Your secret sex room?" wiggling her eyebrows back at Ali. 

A deep laugh echoes through the hallway as it hits her what Ashlyn had just said. "Some could say that, but that would mean someone besides me has been up there. Just a few bedrooms and a office. Don't worry about it, I'm sure you will see one of those bedrooms at some point…if you play your cards right." She pauses for a second or two, pointing up the stairs, "do you really want to see." Ashlyn just nods yes and shrugs. 

"One condition… we have to leave here in like five minutes so no funny business." She lays down the law in a tone that let's Ashlyn knows there is no wiggle room. "Whatever you say boss lady" putting her arms up in surrender. 

She slowly gives her the quick tour of the upstairs space, consisting of two spare bedrooms and the make shift office she has set-up for her remotes. The last space they come to is her bedroom, which, she just stands in the door way and ushers Ashlyn in with the wave of her arm. 

Ashlyn steps in and looks around, taking in the crisp, white sheets on the comfy, looking bed, the minimal furniture and lack of clutter which makes her want to just jump in the bed and stay in this room forever. She takes a few more steps in and peeks into the bathroom, seeing the amazing shower. Ali knew when she got the place she was upgrading to the shower with the water jets on both walls, definitely made for two.

She is still waiting for the blonde in the doorframe when she comes back out of the bathroom. "That shower? Man, you are spoiled and I'm jealous" Ashlyn chuckles, throwing her thumb back in the direction of the bathroom. 

Ali just smirks and grabs Ashlyn's hands as she gets closer, telling her "hopefully, I can spoil you in there." She isn't sure where that even just came from, but her body is obviously on fire inside…and she's extremely horny. Apparently, the 'no funny business' pep talk she made downstairs didn't apply to herself. 

Ashlyn steps closer toward her, so they are now both in the door frame, Ali pressed into the edge. She leans into the brunette's ear and tells her "between the bed and that shower, I'm pretty sure you are the one who will be getting spoiled" she moves from her ear to her neck, giving a slow kiss, "again", moving a little lower with another kiss, "and again", back to her ear "and again" before pulling back in front of the brunette's closed eyes. 

"Fuck me" Ali breathes out but then pops her eyes open. 

"Hopefully" the blonde answers, with a smirk on her face. 

"Sorry, I didn't mean for that to come out" she lightly chuckles and runs her hands through her hair. 

"I thought we were both just being honest, remember no secrets?" Ashlyn responds while shrugging her shoulders.

"You" she says, while she moves both of her hands to Ashlyn's waist, pushing her into the hallway, "are too much", finishing with a quick peck. "But" she pauses for a second, "no more sex until we at least have agreed to go out on a first date" her eye brows raised. "I already feel like I should have waited, but on the other hand" pulling herself into the blondes arms for a full embrace while mumbling, "it was soooo good, and I kinda want it to happen again, like right now. You turn me on so much, even just opening the door tonight, I wanted to jump you", chuckling into her neck.

Ashlyn squeezes her tighter, "trust me, I know baby. I can't stop thinking about the things you did to me and how you good you made me feel. Obviously, I mean, I'm acting like a twelve year old, horny boy every time I see you. I can wait until whenever, but any idea on when I do get to ask you out?"

All Ali can respond with is "I would love to know the answer to that myself" before loosening her grip, taking her hand, and leading her down the stairs. 

\----- (Ash)

As the both of you are on the way downtown to meet your friends, you give her a quick rundown on who is joining tonight. There is Jimmy, a college friend that moved to the area soon after you did, with his wife, Emma and their baby daughter, Riley. The other couple coming tonight is Kayley and her girlfriend, Austin. You met them when you first moved here and hang out when you all have a free moment, which isn't terribly often. You hope Ali doesn't feel too pressured that it's all couples, which you didn't really think of that beforehand. Ali is taking it all in, asking a few questions along the way about each person. You love that she seems interested in your friends and not just superficially pretending to care. What you are enjoying the most though, is how she has her hand on your leg the entire time. 

You arrive at the bar and easily see you are the last two of the group to show up. You hadn't said who you were coming with, so everyone is a little surprised to see a new face walking in with you. As you make your way through the crowd, you rest your hand on her lower back, allowing her to walk in front of you and yet still feeling connected. 

"There she is!" You hear Jimmy yell over the loud voices in the bar. "Yeah, yeah, sorry we are few minutes late, I had to finish up some last minute team stuff." You can see out of the corner of your eye Ali picks up that you don't blame it on making out at her place on why you are late. 

"So, everyone, this is my friend Ali. Ali, this is everyone." You go through and do the individual introductions as you sit down at the table. As you are waiting for the waitress to come over and get your drink orders, Kayley speaks up, "so Ash, what's up with Rachel? I'm surprised you didn't bring her". Not really expecting to hear that name tonight, you move your hand under the table and put it on top of Ali's, who welcomes it with a light squeeze. 

You rub the back of your neck with your other hand, "um, yeah, so we aren't together anymore. " kind of shifting your eyes in Ali's direction to convey this isn't the time and place to discuss. 

"Oh shit, sorry dude, I hadn't heard." she honestly lets you know, picking up on the clues and also being completely out of the loop on it. 

"It's all good, it had kind of run its course, and I mean, you saw us, it's not like we were this amazing match." You shrug showing you aren't really torn up about it. 

"Well, for what it's worth, I think you can do much better. I don't know, just something about her always rubbed me the wrong way."

You chuckle before responding, "Thanks bud. I'm pretty sure I can do A LOT better and hopefully find that special someone." It's at that point, you feel Ali intertwine her fingers with yours. You look over giving a small apologetic smile with your eyes while she just smiles brightly at you, telling you she isn't bothered by the topic of conversation.

Thankful for the interruption, the waitress comes over to get the drink order for everyone. You settle on a whiskey neat and try to impress Ali by remembering her drink from the first time you went out. "Vodka soda with limes?" you ask looking in her direction. You see a surprised smile on her face, obviously shocked you would remember, "that's perfect" she lets you know. 

After your drinks come, you are instantly put at ease at well Ali gets along with your friends, almost effortlessly. She talks about how she is a sideline reporter for ESPN, which Jimmy loves. Of course, he wanted it to be the other football, which you have to roll your eyes at. 

One thing you are secretly happy about is that Ali doesn't dig into much of your past while at the table with your friends. Not that you have anything to hide, but you kind of want to talk to her about your struggles while not in the middle of a bar. 

As the table is settling the check to walk the block over to the venue, you notice Ali and Emma looking at Emma's phone, pointing and smiling. You see Ali's eyes light up while they are talking and your curiosity gets the best of you. 

"What are you two up to over there?" Trying to lift your head up to see the phone. 

Ali looks at you with a big smile, "Emma is showing me these adorable photos of Riley! She is so cute, you definitely have to take me over to meet her." 

You get a smile as wide as your face. You are no where near a conversation about kids, but it seems like maybe you can breath a little easier seeing she likes them as much as you do. You have always had a soft spot for kids. You aren't sure if it's cause basically you are a kid yourself, or you want to make up for your shitty childhood. Most of all, you feel like you have so much to give back. You want to spoil and dote on a child like you never were. 

"I'm sure we can make that happen" Ashlyn finally answers Ali while looking over at the photo. "She's getting so big already and she is only six months old." 

"You have no idea Ash. You guys should totally come over soon and play with her. I like to call them 'wine play dates'. Emma uses air quotes for her unofficial play date name. Your eyes meet Ali’s, which are crinkled, almost shut from her large smile.

Pulling you out of your gaze, you hear over your shoulder, "Alright, slow pokes, let's get going". You stand up, pulling out Ali's chair and grabbing her coat. After she is all set, Ali starts walking out with Emma, ahead of the rest of the group, carrying on their Riley conversation while you are walking with Kayley, Austin, and Jimmy. 

Kayley slaps your arm as you head out onto the sidewalk "dude, I'm so sorry I brought up Rachel! And you introduced Ali as a friend so didn't think anything about it." 

You just shake your head and laugh, "I promise it's ok. She knows about Rachel. Ali and I met a few weeks ago and are taking things slow. So technically a 'friend', leaning towards more."

Austin speaks up, wanting to give her two cents "for what's it worth, she seems like a really great girl" leaning in a little closer "and she's fucking hot." 

You groan internally, but just shrug your shoulders "you have no idea."

\----- (Ali)

As the group gets to the venue, she feels Ashlyn's hand again on her back, ushering her in. She enjoyed catching up with Emma on the way over and hearing all about their adorable baby. Also, she did enjoy a little unsolicited commentary about Ashlyn from one of her closet friends in DC. 

"I'm probably way overstepping and Ash will KILL me, but I love her and want her to be happy." Ali looks over at Emma, encouraging her to continue. "I haven't seen her smile this much in a really long time. If you are the cause of that, I want to thank you. She's a special one." 

Ali glances back at Ashlyn and then back at Emma, "I'm starting to learn that about her. Don't worry, your secret is safe with me, I won't mention it." she smiles back at the woman who just made her heart swell a little. 

Once the group finds the space on the floor for the show, Ashlyn runs and grabs her another vodka soda while she gets herself another whiskey. They had perfectly timed their arrival as the show was just starting as she walked back over with their drinks.

When the music starts, Ali is standing next to Ashlyn, their bodies barely touching. As the night progresses, they get closer, first with Ashlyn moving slightly behind her, followed by the blondes left arm around her waist, then with their right hands intertwined once their drinks are empty. Ali is pretty sure things couldn't get better…

As the next song starts, "All My Days", Ashlyn leans into her ear letting her know "this is one of my favorite songs by him. It made me think of you the other day when I heard it and it's one of the reasons I wanted to ask you to come." 

After this confession, Ali leans further back into the blonde as she wraps both arms around her. You slowly start swaying to the music, listening to the words, hands resting on top of Ashlyns. About half way through the song, she feels the blonde’s breath on her neck again, this time whispering the words of the song in her ear:

Now I see clearly  
It's you I'm looking for  
All of my days  
Soon I'll smile  
I know I'll feel this loneliness no more  
All of my days  
For I look around me  
And it seems you've found me  
And it's coming into sight  
As the days keep turning into night  
And even breathing feels all right

Ali feels paralyzed in this moment. Between the blonde's breath on her ear, the warmth around her body, or the words emphasized for the moment, she is overcome with emotions. She knows that she can't wait any longer for this woman. She has to jump, head first. With her head already leaning against Ashlyn's shoulder, she turns her head to look over at the blonde. She sees Ashlyn slowly turn her head to look at her and sees her eyes glistening. Apparently, she feels the heaviness of the moment as well. The brunette slowly takes her right hand off Ashlyn's hand below and reaches back to cup her face, pulling it closer. She doesn't have words to even express what she is feeling so she does the only thing she knows will work in this moment. 

It's as if Ashlyn knows it's coming, both pairs of eyes are closed as your lips touch, obliviously to anyone and everything around the two of you. Neither of you want to take the kiss further than it already is, so it's only held for a few seconds, but it's enough. Ashlyn leans into her ear again, whispering "I can't find the words myself, so I hope his will do for now".

Ali pulls her down to speak into her ear, "it's more than enough."

\------- (Ash)

You are physically shaking, you have got to be. In all the places you could be right now, in public is not one of them. Your emotions are bubbling over, almost crying just repeating the words someone else wrote into her ear. Who are you? You are supposed to be "an emotionally closed off human being, horrible at expressing yourself", or at least that's what every other girl seems to tell you. 

In the middle of this crowded concert venue, you are one with Ali. It doesn't matter that your friends are all staring at you right now, she is the only one in the universe. 

There are only a few more songs left of his set, which you both enjoy completely wrapped up in each other. You can tell something shifted, you aren't exactly sure what, but the air between you is different. 

As everyone is filing out, you feel her grab your hand to hold. You look over with an approving smile and a light squeeze. 

"That was an great show" Jimmy says while all walking out together. Kayley chimes in "are we talking about the one on the stage or the one next to us?" 

You audibly groan while you see Ali run her free hand over her face, burying her head into your shoulder, not really knowing how she will take all of this. 

"Fine" she sighs "Soooo maybe a little more than friends…" Ali replies back to the group with a shrug and a smirk on her face. 

This brings a smile to your face and a light squeeze to her hand. You love that she just rolled with it and didn't freak out. 

"Well, either way, I enjoyed both" Kayley's girlfriend chimed in with. 

"Glad we could entertain" you get out, shaking your head. 

"Does anyone want to go out for one last drink?" Kayley asks the group as you all stop at the corner before splitting apart. 

You look at Ali and raise your eyebrows at her, hoping for her to express what she wants to do. 

"I'm actually exhausted so I might head home." Ali says to the group before turning to face you, "feel free to go out with your friends, I don't mind just grabbing a car and heading back."

You shake your head back and forth before answering "I'm heading back with you". You turn to the group to echo your answer, "I'm headed home, I can't keep up with you guys anymore". 

You are expecting some ribbing so you just wait for it, as if on cue. "I'm sure you are about to be more exhausted in a few hours", Jimmy chimes in, to almost round out the peanut gallery. 

"Ok, ok" you hear Emma's voice over your shoulder. "Let them leave in peace and not scare Ali off the first time she meets us". You see Emma step towards Ali and wrap her in a hug "I hope to see you soon for that play date. It was really good meeting you." Before she completely releases Ali, you see Emma whisper something in her ear and Ali nods, which of course peaks your interest. 

Everyone shares hugs and the promise to get together soon before you all split into your separate directions. You are requesting the Uber when you feel Ali wrap her arm around yours, similar to the night at the beach when you first kissed. You take a large breath through your nose, expanding your chest to allow more room for the butterflies to spread their wings, as they are currently trying to escape your rib cage. 

The car arrives a few minutes later, you opening the door for Ali before scooting in after her. Once you get settled in, Al closes the gap and assumes a similar position to how she was outside, this time, resting her head on your shoulder, your hand on her leg. 

"Did you have a good time tonight?" you ask her quietly. You can feel her nod against your shoulder before hearing her answer, "the best". This brings a big smile to your face as you lean over and place a soft kiss on the top of her head. You feel her shifting, sitting up a bit to face you, but still holding on to your arm.

"Sorry, I gave your friends something to tease you about" she says while smiling at you before continuing. "I got caught up in the moment. It was like the music… and you, I just. I don't know. It's silly" 

You shift up a little more in the seat, cupping her face with your right hand. "Hey, it's not silly. I'm not used to being all emotional and open with my feelings but you make me want too. The stuff I said last week outside my door is not how I usually am but I that's how I want to be with you. I'm sorry I used a song to express myself, it was", you shrug, "I don't know, the other day when I was home, that song came on and I laid on the couch just listening to the words. They never really hit me before like they did that day. All I could think about was you, and how since we met, you have filled some space I didn't even know existed. You make me feel less lonely, even when we aren't physically in the same place. You make me feel alive inside." You can feel yourself getting caught up in the moment, and of course, it's right as the car is pulling up to her place. You can feel her just staring at you, tears threatening to fall. 

You open the door, reaching for her hand to help her out. After getting out of the car, you both make your way to her doorstep, feet rooted to the ground. You aren't sure what to say or do and you feel completely naked having just bared a bit of your soul. Looking at you with the most beautiful brown eyes you have ever seen, on a clear night with a full moon, she whispers, "stay".

Your lips begin to curl slightly and you do what you have wanted to do since leaving the concert. You reach out and place both of your hands on her cheeks, pulling her lips towards yours. What starts as chaste turns into an emotional fueled, deeply passionate kiss, both of you wanting more by the time your lips lift off each others.

Her voice lightly hits your ear drums, "go grab stuff for tonight and tomorrow and come back". You must have a confused look on your face since she chuckles for a second before following up with "still not getting out of breakfast tomorrow, so I was trying to be helpful. Don't most people who ask you to stay the night kill the mood by telling you to go back home and get your overnight bag?" a smirk coming to her face.

Your wrinkled brow relaxes before answering with a smirk "you aren't most people." She pulls you into a hug and you tell her you will be back in five minutes. When you both release each other, you make sure to ask "are you sure?" to the brunette. She bites her bottom lip, nodding, only adding to your stomach turning, heart thumping, uncontrollable smile induced state by saying "you are the only thing I am sure of right now".

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok. This was originally a much longer chapter, but I decided to split in two. I mean, you guys shouldn't get spoiled and get EVERYTHING all at once. :)
> 
> Also, seems like a few people are getting lost with me shifting between the two POVs. To me, it seems ok, but I'm also the one writing it. I tried to reign it in a bit in this chapter and noted when the different POVs shift. Ashlyn is typically always the second person and Ali, the third person. Let me know if you want me to stick with this or just continue how it has been (basically all over the place). :)
> 
> Appreciate everyone's comments, definitely keep me going.


	15. I'd Thought You'd Never Ask

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> and the fun night out continues, inside... 
> 
> warning: things happen in this chapter that might make you blush.

\-------------- (Ali)

Ali walks in her house, leaning against the door as it closes, letting out a deep breath. She is caught up in the Ashlyn Harris riptide and doesn't want out. She is replaying the night over and over in her head and gets a bigger smile each time. She is ready to try. She probably isn't 100% ready, but she isn't sure she ever will be. She also comes to the realization they are basically dating already so might as well try to make it official. Maybe then, she won't feel guilty for wanting to be around her every waking second of the day.

She sits down to take off her shoes and heads into the kitchen to grab some water. She hears a knock on the door and looks up at the clock realizing it's been a little over five minutes. She is honestly shocked if it's Ashlyn since she thinks it takes about five minutes to walk alone over to her place. When she opens the door, she sees Ashlyn, backpack on, bent over at the waist, trying to catch her breath, she has to laugh. 

"Really, you are a professional athlete and you are this out of breath?" Ali asks with an raised eyebrow, hand on her hip. 

"I'm a keeper, woman. Not a forward. That's probably the fastest I have run all year." Ashlyn, very proud of her accomplishment and let's Ali know. 

"Why the hurry, I'm wasn't going anywhere" opening the door further for Ashlyn to come in.

Ashlyn's smile drops while she just shrugs and mumbles, "I didn't want you to change your mind." 

In an instant, it was like she saw Ashlyn's confidence and swag gone and saw her vulnerable side. She has seen her nervous before, but this was different. Was the blonde really that worried that she was going to change her mind? It broke a little bit of her heart if she may have caused this insecurity.

"Hey" closing the gap towards the blonde, Ali continues while grabbing her hand, thumb running over the back of it, "not going to happen." She can tell Ashlyn is off and this vulnerability is creeping more and more into her mind. Ali brings her into a full hug, Ashlyn wrapping both arms around her waist.

They hold each other for a minute before Ali pulls back to look eye to eye with this amazing woman in front of her, hands around the blondes neck "I'm ready for this. You make me feel wanted, beautiful, and that I could take on the world. You make me feel things I haven't felt in years, and in some cases, ever. I want to start this 'new adventure' as you called it, hand in hand. I'm scared my own insecurities will push you away and you'll leave. It scares me, without a doubt, that's been almost two weeks and god, you are all I think about. I can only imagine how my feelings will only grow deeper and I don't know if I will be able to come back from something like this if it doesn't work out, but I'm willing to try."

As the last word leaves her mouth, Ashlyn pulls her into to one of the most tender, passionate kisses she has ever felt. There is so much emotion that is being conveyed through two pairs of lips and tongues that are slowly being intertwined. Ashlyn, wanting to show that she feels the same thing too, enters Ali's mouth with her whole tongue while pulling her body closer to her. Both women are moaning from the slow, gentle explorations until they have almost run out of air. 

Ashlyn rests her forehead on Ali's, slightly out of breath. She is trying to calm her rapid heartbeat before telling her "please know this, if nothing else. I have never felt the way I have when I'm with you, with anyone before. Never. I'm never been less guarded and ready to give my whole heart to someone. I learned I can't be scared and I can't live in fear of something that might happen." She pulls back slightly so their eyes are trained on one another and Ali can fully see the emotions Ashlyn is wearing on her sleeve. "Alex" she breathes out. The brunette slowly closes her eyes when her name leaves Ashlyn's lips, her heart skipping a beat "I will give you everything I can and I won't let either of us walk away, even if we hit a speed bump or two."

They both pull each other together into a tight embrace, just holding each other and soaking in what the other person just shared. Ashlyn finally breaks the moment by sliding out of her arms so she is just holding Ali's hands. 

"Alex", a smile comes to both of their faces as Ashlyn continues, but not before taking a deep breath, "will you go out on a date with me?"

A cheeky smile comes to Ali's face, "I thought you'd never ask."

"Well…" rocking back on her feet, Ashlyn is struggling with the anticipation, even though she knows the answer. 

Ali makes her wait, tapping her chin in mock thought before easing her worries, "I would love to go out on a date with you." 

Ali moves her hands up into Ashlyn's hair, letting Ashlyn's hands reach out to her waist, slowly closing the space between them. With their lips barely touching, Ali starts with small pecks on Ashlyn's lips, but it doesn't take long for Ali to take control and run her tongue over the blonde's bottom lip. She hears a moan from her actions while she is slowly entering the beautiful women's mouth. Her heart is pounding out of her chest while she tentatively let's their tongues touch in her mouth. She pulls the blonde even closer so their bodies are flush, but still not getting close enough. She can feel their tongues fighting for dominance and she can feel her body heat rising. Bringing her out of her haze, she feels Ashlyn slow the kiss back down and pulling away to breath. 

Ashlyn quietly whispers, like they are in a museum filled with people, "if I recall, if we agreed to a date, we could go up those stairs and I could spoil you until the sun comes up." A quiet moan coming from Ali before matching her tone, "I guess I did say that, so what are you waiting for?" A smirk comes across Ashlyn's face while her eyes turn dark with desire.

Ali runs her hands over Ashlyn's chest, anticipating that this will be the last time clothes will be under them until tomorrow. "Let me turn off the lights down here and close everything up, feel free to head up there and put your stuff down. I'll be up in a second."  
Ashlyn nods, still smiling, "don't take too long" giving her a small kiss before turning to head up the stairs. 

Ali sighs, watching a sight she hopes to see forever, this beautiful woman, her beautiful woman, heading to her bedroom. She quickly shuts off the lights, locks up the door, and grabs a couple of waters from the kitchen and heads up the stairs. She turns the corner into her bedroom and sees Ashlyn taking off her boot and sitting it next to the other, beside the bed. She just stands there taking all of this in. Two weeks ago she woke up alone, not even thinking someone like this was out in the world for her and here she is, about to hand over the keys to her heart and make love to someone she can't even be in the same room with without having trouble breathing.

\--------- (Ash)

You catch her out of the corner of your eye, leaning up on the door frame like earlier tonight. You wonder how long she has been standing there, watching you. You turn to face her, a dimpled smile coming to your face as you stand and walk to her. You reach out to take her hand and pull her close to you. 

You both just stand there, looking into each other's eyes, breathing the same air. She reaches up and cups your cheek with her right hand while her eyes give away what she's feeling inside. She slowly moves her hand down, thumb trailing over your lips. As the tip of her thumb reaches your mouth, you slowly move your tongue out to pull it in. Both of your eyes still locked, you see her start to close hers as you close your mouth around her thumb, letting your tongue flick over the end, teeth lightly raking down the rest of it. You hear a soft moan come from in front of you as her eyes slowly open back up. You can feel her slowly pulling her thumb of your mouth and slowly trace your bottom lip. She closes the space between you, slowly replacing her thumb with her tongue as she gently strokes your mouth. You feel her hands moving to the buttons of her shirt as your grip on her waist gets tighter. 

She pulls away to look you in the eyes again as she methodically unbuttons your shirt. Once it's all the way open, she lowers her eyes to rake over your body. When her eyes meet yours again, she whispers out "you are so beautiful" as she is pushing your shirt off of your shoulders, down your arms, and on to the floor. 

She slowly runs her finger tips up both of your arms until they reach your neck. She undoes the bandana you have around it before tossing it to the side. You are frozen, you want her to get naked with you but you sense this is something she wants to do, so you just enjoy it, every fucking second of it. 

Her finger tips slowly run down the straps of your sports bra, over your hardening nipples, until they the reach the elastic band. She moves them around to each side before starting to gently raise it off of you. You don't break eye contact as your lift both of your arms over your head for her to continue her motions. With a toss of the wrist, she is creating a small pile of your clothes at the end of the bed. 

As you go to move your arms down, she stops you as she raises her hands back up to trace down your arms, you lowering them as she picks off from she left off at your neck. This time as her hands trail over your chest, nothing is separating them from your warm skin. You let out a moan and close your eyes for a brief second as her finger tips run over your breasts and nipples, wanting nothing more for her to pinch them or wrap her mouth around them, but that will have to wait. 

Your eyes open again as you feel her fingers moving down your stomach, over your abs. She finally hits the top of your pants and as she does, she licks her bottom lip. You aren't sure if it was done subconsciously or to make you squirm more, but either way, it took your wetness to another level. You can feel her fumbling to find the button before finally getting it to pop open. She notices that they are button flies when she doesn't immediately find the zipper. You see a little smirk come to her face as she pops open each button. 

Once your pants are completely open, you can feel her taking her fingers and running them over the top of your boxers that are exposed. Of course she isn't going to take those off yet, you still need to suffer. She moves her hands to the sides of your pants and slowly pushes them down as she squats in front of you to help you out of them. When you step out of them, you look down as she is moving her hands over your legs, while looking up at you. You see her hesitate momentarily on her way up as she closes her eyes and inhales your sweet smell before standing all the way back up. 

You can't contain yourself anymore. While her hands are on the waistband of your boxers, you breath out "you are killing me". You see her lips curl up slightly at the edges before she whispers back, "good", punctuated with a peck on the lips. 

You can feel her fingers hook into the front of your boxers and trace your skin as they both go around to the back. That's when you feel both of her hands snake down over your bare ass and give you a light squeeze. This time you moan out "oh god", as you are so turned on, you can longer control yourself. You know whenever she does touch you where you need it most, you are going to last about five seconds. You have never been this turned on. 

She slowly moves her hands back up to trace around to your sides. She grabs hold and squats down as she pulls your boxers down your legs. Once they hit the floor, you see her move her hands to start standing back up so you fling the boxers off to the side with your foot. You are both face to face, you completely naked, her fully dressed. You have never been shy about your body, especially not now with someone worshipping every square inch. 

You feel her hands on your chest, applying pressure and pushing you to back up. Your legs hit the side of the bed and cause you to sit down. She is standing between your legs, looking down at you. You can see the black desire in her eyes and it's taking everything in you not to lift your hands off your thighs and up her dress. 

She takes a little step back and you see her reaching for the hem of dress. All you can think of is the show you are about to get. She gradually starts peeling off the fabric from her body and over her head. As she becomes more and more exposed, you clinch your fists. First you see her red thong, which is the probably the least amount of fabric that could be used and still be considered underwear. Next, you see her toned and tight stomach that leads to a matching red lace bra that all but gives away her perky nipples. 

You aren't sure if you are following protocol or not but you stand up in front of her, your eyes matching hers, "can I help?". She bites her bottom lip and slowly nods. It's like Christmas morning and you getting to unwrap your present. You gently put your hands on her waist and move them up her side until you get to her bra. As you move around to the back, she breathes deeply when you find the clasp and slowly pull it down her arms. You hadn't even let your eyes lower yet to see what awaits you but when you do, you do the only thing you have wanted to do all week. 

You sit back on the bed, pulling her closer between your legs, by your hands, on her waist. You lean forward and barely touch her nipple with the tip of your tongue and feel her body stiffen. You look up with your eyes and see her looking down at you, this only spurs you on. Your grip on her waist tightens as you surround her nipple with your whole mouth, tongue still tracing the edges. You feel her arm lift up from her side followed by her hand pressing on the back of your head. You continue to suck on her before slowly pulling off, your teeth raking over her skin before you release.

As you look back up at her, you feel her hand moving your head over to her other breast. You let a small smirk loose from your face as she does the same back at you. You repeat the same actions on her other small, soft breast. After you think her nipples can't get any harder, you pull off of her and slide off the bed onto your knees, pushing her back slightly to make space for you. 

Your head is even with her belly button so you slowly lean forward, connecting your mouth to her skin. You hear her moan when you make contact with your mouth but also as your hands slide around to touch her bare ass. You moan as well as you squeeze her tight, she has no idea how much you love her muscular, toned ass and watching her do squats the other day sent your libido in overdrive.

You slowly kiss your way down until you hit the top of this amazing red thong. You move your hands off her ass and back around to her hip bones. Dipping your index fingers into each side, you lightly bite the top of it and slowly slide it down her legs, onto the ground. As she goes to step out of it, you take the opportunity to move up to where you have wanted to be since the last time you where there. You wrap your hands back around her, grab on to her ass as you let the tip of your tongue touch her clit. 

The only sound you hear in the room is her yelling "Fuck" while she throws her head back. You audibly moan, almost as loud when her copious amounts of wetness hits your tongue. You feel both of her hands land on your shoulders to steady herself. You look up at her and see her furrowed brow staring down at you as she is trying to catch her breath. Feeling like it's ok to continue, you slowly lift one of her legs over your shoulder and bury your face deep inside of her. God, you love the way she tastes. Another moan leaves your mouth as you start running your tongue all over her pussy before going back to suck on her clit. You can feel her body starting to give away to the pleasure you are providing. As much as you want to tease her, now is not the time, especially when she places her hand on the back of your head, shoving your face forward. 

You hear her starting to pant above you, mumbling, "oh god" over and over again. You sense she is close, slowly you lower one of your hands that has been gripping her ass under her body, until you feel her wetness. While still sucking on her clit, you slowly enter her with two fingers. She comes almost the instant you enter her, echoed in your ears by her shouting "Ashlyn!", as she spills over your fingers that are knuckle deep. She grips your hair as she continues moving her body in motion with your fingers. You aren't sure if you should stop or not, but when she tells you "fuck me till I come again", you know you aren't stopping anytime soon. 

You pick up the pace with your fingers, making her loose and wet, but you aren't sure how much longer she is going to last. You feel her pulling you up by the back of your head, so as you go to stand, you put another finger inside of her to fill her. When you are standing again, she pulls you into a deep, open-mouthed kiss that you both moan into. You are so fucking turned on by this woman, your legs are weak. You separate from the kiss, your foreheads touching, her panting onto your lips. You can tell she is close by the small moans filling her bedroom. You move your thumb around to be able to touch her clit while you are fucking her so hard. You move your head to her neck and begin sucking on her pulse point in earnest. You feel her tightening around your fingers so you pull out slightly and just push on her g-spot to put her over the edge. She starts moaning "I'm coming" over and over in your ear, pulling your body tight to her. As she finally lets go, her head drops to your shoulders as she lightly bites you, shaking from the intense pleasure that just ripped through her body. You can tell you are holding up almost all of her body weight so you move to pull your fingers out of her slowly. She releases the grip on your head and pulls you into a tight embrace, feeling her elevated heart rate while trying to catch her breath. 

In her ear you whisper, "you okay, baby?". You can feel her nod before answering, "just need a second. Sorry". You let a little chuckle against her skin, "you have nothing to feel sorry about. I'll hold you for as long as you want me too." You feel her squeeze you a little tighter and take a deep breath. 

After another minute or two, you feel her slowly peeling herself out of your arms. The smile this woman is wearing along with emotions she is expressing through her eyes almost takes your breath away. She cups your face and leans forward slowly to give you a soft kiss on your lips. When she pulls away, her eyes are taking in your face like she is etching it into her memory. A little smile comes to your face before asking "what's going on in there?". Her smile lifts higher as her eyes come back to yours, "I'm just trying to figure out how I got so lucky". You shrug, not really knowing how to respond before the words just fall out of your mouth, "maybe when enough shitty things happen in life, the universe finally decides to make you feel like it was all worth it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To ease the suffering of the people.... enjoy ;-)
> 
> There is one more chapter to Friday night coming.... but won't be till next week, so make this one last. 
> 
> Needless to say, #smutshy, so be gentle on the criticisms.


	16. Déjà Vu

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So, basically all smut.

\------- (Sort of Ali but mainly just narrative)

Ali can't say anything after that, she just looks at Ashlyn in complete admiration. She had never met anyone that is like this woman. She has a hard time believing this is all real and not some fantasy dream she is stuck in. 

Also running through her head is how Ashlyn just played her body like a violin, leaving no string untouched. She had wanted to pleasure Ashlyn first to show her how much she appreciates her patience, but what seems to be a trend, her body couldn't say no once she was touched.

After finally feeling her legs again, she moves out of the embrace to look in Ashlyn's eyes when she tells her this. "You are such a beautiful person Ashlyn, you take my breath away." A shy smile comes across Ashlyn's face and Ali can tell, she probably isn't told that often. She makes a promise to herself to really show (and tell) Ashlyn how much this is true any chance she gets. 

"Now, I think it's my turn to finish what I started", Ali smirks while lightly putting her hands against Ashlyn's chest again, guiding her one step back towards the bed. Ashlyn just smirks right back and follows her lead. She is so turned at this point, she doesn't really care what Ali does to her at this point. 

Back where she started, sitting on the edge of the bed with Ali standing between her legs, Ali leans down and starts to gently kiss the blonde's lips while resting her hands on her thighs. The kiss quickly intensifies with Ashlyn's hands running through Ali's hair, gripping on for dear life, moaning every time the brunette's tongue touches hers. 

Slowly, Ali lowers herself between Ashlyn's legs, maintaining eye contact with her, until she is on her knees. She wastes no time in leaning down and capturing Ashlyn in her mouth. She hears a gasp come from the woman whose thighs she is in between. She can feel the blonde shifting under her until she is leaning back on her elbows to watch Ali work. Ali can feel Ashlyn's orgasm quickly rising based on how much she is starting squirm and the panted breathes in front of her. To help push her over the edge, Ali reaches under both of Ashlyn's thighs pulling her closer to her and dropping Ashlyn's back directly on to the bed. The only sounds in the bedroom are of Ashlyn quietly chanting Ali's name over and over again while she drives her over the edge. Right before she comes, Ali opens her eyes and watches Ashlyn unravel in front of her. A guttural moan rips through the room as she starts shaking under Ali's tongue, as she is letting go. With one last flick of her tongue, she reaches out and locks hands with Ashlyn's as she starts to taste the fruits of her labor. 

Ali, lost in savoring every last drop of wetness doesn't hear Ashlyn breathing out "baby" from up on the bed. It's not until Ashlyn starts shifting to reach for her that she opens her eyes and their eyes meet. A small smile comes to Ali's face as she gives one last kiss to Ashlyn's sensitive body. As Ashlyn reaches out her hand for Ali to grab, a smile comes to her face as well, whispering "come up here, baby".

As she climbs on the bed, she hovers over Ashlyn and places a soft kiss on her lips. She falls over to her left side with her right arm over the blonde's mid-section. Ashlyn turns her head to her right side and smiles at the beautiful woman next to her. Ali moves her hand up to brush the hair off of Ashlyn's face, then rubbing her thumb over her prominent cheek bone. 

"Baby, you make me feel so good" Ashlyn quietly says as she flips over on her right side so they are facing each other. "Mmmm, the pleasure is all mine sweetheart", a bigger smile coming to Ali's face when she tells that to the beautiful woman next to her. Both of their hands at this point are slowly running up and down each other's side, just taking in the moment. 

"Should we actually turn ourselves right in the bed and get under the covers?" Ali breaks the moment while tilting her head behind her to the pillows. Ashlyn just smiles over at her and laughs, "I didn't realize you were such a traditionalist" and gives her a soft kiss, pulling their bodies closer together. She continues after pulling her lips off Ali's "As long as I can hold you all night, I don't care where we end up."

Ali leans in to connect their kiss again, lazily letting Ashlyn deepen it. She loves kissing the blonde and it seems the feeling is mutual. They just lay there enjoying each other for a few minutes, Ali having moved half on top of Ashlyn, with no agenda to move it further along. 

A shiver runs through Ali which Ashlyn can feel on top of her. She pulls away from the kiss and asks if Ali is cold. She nods in agreement before starting to slide off the blondes body. "C'mon, let's get you under the covers" Ashlyn says while getting off the bed and reaching out for Ali's hand. Once they are both standing, Ali gets a serious look on her face, "the most important question of the night… what side do you sleep on?" Ashlyn lets out a slight chuckle and then just points to the left side before adding "I usually just sleep in the middle so I can do wherever." 

Ali pulls down the covers on the right side and just says "you chose correctly, scoot in", a soft smile coming to her face. 

They both get under the covers, Ashlyn holding out her arms for Ali to crawl into. The brunette lays down, head on Ashlyn's chest, while she throws and arm and leg over her body. Before getting completely settled, she lifts up and tells the blonde "thank you for an amazing night. All of it. Meeting your friends, the concert, sharing your feelings and body with me. It's one of the best nights I have had in awhile, even if it was a 'non-date' night" finishing by placing a light peck on Ashlyn's cheek.

Ashlyn squeezes her tight before letting out a breath she didn't know she was holding. "I'm glad you had a good time, I did too. I can't wait until the next time when you can officially drop the 'non' part of the evening." Placing a kiss on the top of her head, she continues, "Thank you for allowing me to enjoy your body. I can't get enough of you and being able to hold your right now", she shakes her head, "it's everything to me." Ashlyn feels Ali's lips curl up slightly on her chest before she hears the words coming from below, "you are everything to me" 

Both women let the words hang over them before Ali reaches over and turns out the light. She snuggles back into the blondes arms thinking this is where she wants to be every chance she gets.

\------ (Ash)

At some point in the night, you both have adjusted your position so you are on your sides and you have wrapped yourself completely around the smaller woman. With the morning light starting to shine in, you are both slowly starting to wake up, so you tighten your grip around Ali's mid-section, not wanting to let go of her. It's probably one of the best night's sleep you have gotten in some time and you know the reason.

When you feel her arm adjust and cover your tattooed arm, you interlock your fingers with Ali's and kiss lightly on her shoulders and upper back. You love the way her hair smells and her body tastes as you make her way to her neck, letting the tip of your tongue drag over the outline of her ear. 

A soft moan comes from the body in front of you as she pushes her body back into yours and moves your intertwined hand up to her right breast. She squeezes your hand which in turn makes you squeeze her breast. You moan quietly in her ear as she lets go of your hand and reaches around to grab your ass. You bite down lightly on the bottom of her ear lobe at the same time, you had moved your hand over to her left breast and clamp down. 

Her ass is starting to grind into the front of you so you move your hand down to her hip and grip it tightly. You adjust yourself so you can whisper in her ear, "I really want to fuck you right now". She moans again, this time digging her nails into your ass which you take as a good sign. 

She turns her head slightly, so she can see you out of the corner of her eye before responding, "I want to fuck you at the same time." This time your nails digging into her hips and a loud moan leaving your lips.

You feel her shifting under your arm to face you. As she turns over, you move your hand back to her hip, pulling her tighter while she grabs the back of your neck and pulls you in for searing, open mouthed kiss. 

Gone were the gentle touches of last night, this was about an animalistic need for release.

She pulls back slightly, her dark eyes of desire matching yours. You feel her hand leaving your neck and trailing down your body, eventually hitting your clit. Your body bucks forward needing her touch. This spurs you to lift her right leg over your hip, using your long reach to wrap around and trace her folds with your finger tips. 

While breathing the same air and holding eye contact, you both enter each other at the same time, moaning each others names while you gently go in and out. You can tell it's not going to take either of you long since you are already so worked out. You both keep the same pace, feeling yourself tighten around her two fingers and her doing the same.

As you both begin the inevitable climb, she tells you "you feel so good inside of me", almost out of breath. You echo the sentiments, barely able to breath yourself, but adding "I want to cum at the same time as you." These words were like throwing accelerant on the fire, as you both start whispering, "I'm coming" over and over while trying to keep your eyes open. 

You suddenly feel a flood over your fingers that are buried so deep inside the brunette that immediately trigger your body to tighten and do the same. You both stroke each other to stretch out the powerful orgasm that just ripped through your bodies. 

As your chests are going up and down, trying to calm your racing heart, you feel her slowly remove her fingers. You do the same as she lowers her leg off your hip and back onto the bed. What you weren't expecting was Ali to take her fingers that were just deep inside you and put them up to your mouth for you to clean. You wrap your lips around them, close your eyes and let out a deep moan. You open your eyes as you are enjoying the taste, bringing your fingers up to her mouth and she echoes your pleasure. Once you have both cleaned up each other's fingers, you lean forward and kiss her. This time it wasn't the hurried kiss it was a few minutes ago. This time it felt different. Slowly exploring each others mouths and enjoying the taste on your tangled tongues. 

After a few minutes, you both back off from the kiss and wrap each other in a tight embrace. You love just holding her body like this as you go off into a dream world where every day starts with her body pressed into yours. You are only brought out of this day dream when you feel her moving out of your embrace, looking at you lovingly, saying "good morning" with a smile that conveys everything. A dimpled smile comes across your face as well, saying softly to her, "morning, baby."

"Have I told you how much I love to hear you call me baby?" she says to you, placing a little peck on the tip of your nose. "You haven't", you answer, "but I love calling you it, so I'm glad it's ok", giving her a little wink. 

"Did you sleep okay?", you ask, propping yourself up on your elbow, left hand on her hip. 

"I did, probably cause you were here and kept me warm", she answers, mirroring your movement. 

"I see, so that's why you wanted me to stay… to save on your heating bill", you jokingly tell her while raising an eyebrow. 

"Yep" she answers, popping the p, "so you can leave now", pointing to the door. 

You start to get off the bed until she reaches out and grabs your wrist. She pulls you back down on top of her as she rolls to her back. As you are hovering over her, she tells you "that was the best way to wake up this morning".

"I was going to say the pleasure was all mine, but obviously, that's not true", you tell her which is followed by a swat to your shoulder. 

"Ugh" she grunts out, "You want some coffee? I can't handle you right now", laughing as she wraps her arms around you and flips over so she is on top of you. 

"I do, but maybe I want something else first" you mumble out to her. 

"Not a chance, babe", as she ended that conversation quickly by rolling off the bed. 

You aren't really complaining, watching her walk around her bedroom nude, grabbing some sweats, a t-shirt, and throwing her hair in a bun before going into the bathroom. You take the opportunity to just lay back and stare at her ceiling. You are thinking about how you can't believe you are here. Two weeks ago you didn't even know this woman and now you are falling head over heels for her. No girl has ever grabbed you this tightly, and so fast. You think how it's already so comfortable between you two, it's like you have been dating for months, not getting ready to go out on a first date with her. 

You hear the bathroom door creaking open, breaking you out of your trance. You swing your legs around to get out of bed, but not before the brunette steps in between them. It's like déjà vu, but this time, you aren't trying to get her out of her clothes. She reaches out and pulls you close, your head in her mid-section, her arms around your upper back. 

Faintly you hear from above, "thank you for staying last night". You smile into her before pulling back to see her looking down at you. You grab her hands and pull yourself up so you are both standing, facing each other.

"I will gladly stay with you any night, all you have to do is ask", you tell her honestly. 

She reaches up on her tip toes and places a soft, chaste kiss on your lips. As she pulls back, she taps your chest and lets you know she will be downstairs getting breakfast ready. You nod as she turns and leaves the room. 

You are happy she told you to grab a bag, no matter how non-traditional it was. You pull out your toothbrush, a pair of sweats, and a t-shirt, apparently the outfit of choice for a lazy Saturday morning. Walking into the bathroom, looking at yourself in the mirror, you tell yourself "so this must be what falling in love feels like", a small smile coming to your face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Getting back on the storyline train again after this. 
> 
> I have been super busy so was hard to get motivated to write this one, but as usual, once I focus on it, it flows. I'm not super happy with it, but hopefully you guys enjoy. Hopefully another update coming by EOW. 
> 
> Let me know your thoughts. :)


	17. Are you Happy?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lots of emotions being shared...

\-------- (Ali)

As she makes her way down the stairs, she has a permanent grin on her face. Ali was proud she asked her to stay last night, letting go of the insecurities she had and just wilting under Ashlyn's touch. She also thinks back about how she told the blonde she was ready for the next step and she doesn't feel an ounce of regret this morning. 

Walking into the kitchen to start the coffee, she grabs the eggs, hash browns, avocado, and bread and puts them on the counter. Once she has everything out, she walks back into the living room and puts the football on the tv, with the sound barely up. 

By the time she has the french press out and is ready to pour the coffee, she sees the blonde coming down the stairs. Her breath catches in her throat just watching her move through her house. She has never been the 'u-haul' type but all she wants to do is make Ashlyn move in here ASAP so this is how they start every morning. It actually surprises her a bit to even think like that. The blonde has made her do a 180 in her life, and while hesitant at first, now that she is ready to move forward, she is ready to screw the consequences, sorta. 

"It smells amazing down here", Ashlyn tells you as she comes around the corner into the kitchen. You smile over to her, while finishing the pour of her coffee.

"Hope it tastes as good as it smells", she says, passing the mug off to her with a light chuckle. She watches the blonde take a small sip before she answers, "almost as amazing as the beautiful girl who made it."

"Ugh, you are insufferable", Ali rolls her eyes while she walks over to the stove to start the eggs. She feels two large arms wrap around her mid-section, hearing in her ear, "you know you love it". 

The cage of butterflies in her gut were let out when she hears what Ashlyn just said. It's in that moment that you realize yourself, that you in fact do love it. You are completely falling for this amazing woman who has totally swept you off your feet. You are pulled out of your mind when you feel her kiss your cheek as she let's go of your body and moves to sit on the counter next to where you are standing. 

"I will say, I do like having my morning coffee with you", Ali let's her know with a smile before continuing, "So, let me know if this isn't okay, but I was just going to make some eggs and potatoes, along with some avocado toast. Do you want anything else?" she asks Ashlyn as she is about to crack open the eggs. 

"I'm good with whatever you want feed me with, I'll never complain about that." the blonde answers with a shrug. 

"Ok then, how do you like your eggs?" she now stands over the skillet, holding the spatula out to the side. 

"Over medium?", again shrugging in response. 

Ali moves around the kitchen making the quick breakfast while Ashlyn makes easy conversation about the show last night and her upcoming schedule. 

"So when do you have to leave for your Europe games" she asks Ashlyn as she is plating up the food. 

"I would have to check, but I think on Wednesday", the blonde answers before continuing "I kinda want to take you out before then, do you have a good night for that?"

"Oh yeah, and where are you going to take me?" Ali asks, carrying both plates over to the table, walking past Ashlyn who was still perched on the counter. 

"Secret", she answers, jumping off the counter, following behind Ali. 

Ali lets out a sigh, turning around so they are face to face, "Fine, I guess". A smile comes across her face, "I'm good on Monday, I think. Assuming you will need to pack on Tuesday evening?"

"Monday it is", Ashlyn answers while giving Ali a quick kiss while pulling out her chair. Once Ali is seated, Ashlyn runs back into the kitchen to refill their coffee and comes over to the table to sit down. 

Once they are situated, Ashlyn notices the orchid sitting in the middle of the table. A smile comes to her face and she points over to it. "Glad to see you haven't killed it yet", smirking as she says it. 

"It's barely alive", she says while rolling her eyes, while taking a bite. It's far from the truth as the blonde can see it is thriving quite well. Ali continues, once she is finished chewing, "I like being able to look at it when I have my breakfast", shrugging her shoulders while looking at it, finishing with "it makes me think of you".

A smile comes across Ashlyn's face as she just shakes her head and takes another bite. 

As they finish eating, Ashlyn stands up and takes the plates into the kitchen. Ali hears the water running and realizes that the blonde is in there doing the dishes and thinks to herself, 'a woman after my own heart'. She stands up and takes their coffee mugs over to the couch and makes herself comfortable. A minute or two later, Ashlyn comes back in and sits down next to Ali, her hand resting on the brunettes leg. 

"Thanks for breakfast", Ashlyn turns to tell Ali. "I'm pretty sure you could just bring me breakfast every morning", a smirk coming to her face. 

Ali just laughs, "Nope. Next time it's your turn so you better start practicing." 

Ashlyn just rolls her eyes, answering with a "whatever". 

After a few minutes of watching football, Ashlyn turns to her with a serious face. "So, um, I have a question. You don't have to answer it, I'm just curious."

Ali's mind starts racing for a minute, worried what exactly she is going to ask. She just nods okay, curious now about what's about to come up.

Ashlyn shifts slightly so she is facing her, hand still on her leg. "So, last night, when we were saying our goodbyes after the show." Ali nods in understanding before Ashlyn continues, "I saw Emma say something to you. What did she say?"

Ali shifts a little under her hand. She doesn't want to sell out Ashlyn's friend, but on the other hand, it wasn't really a secret. She just smiles back at her, her hand going to cover the blondes that is on her leg. 

"Wellll, if you must know", Ali smiling over to Ashlyn, "she told me she had never seen you this happy and to keep up doing whatever I was doing."

"Really?" the blonde answers, a confused look on her face. "Am I really that obvious?"

She just chuckles at Ashlyn's confused face before leaning over to kiss her lips. As she pulls away, she asks Ashlyn, "Is it a bad thing?". 

Ashlyn shrugs, "not really. But prefer to play my cards a little closer to my chest. Gotta make you work hard to make me happy.", a small smile coming to her face. 

Ali takes that as direct challenge. "Oh really, is that how it is?", narrowing her eyes at the woman next to her. "Am I not doing a good job?" she adds, scooting back to see Ashlyn's full reaction.

Shrugging her shoulders before responding, "I don't know, the jury is still out." Before she knows it, Ali is climbing into her lap, straddling her. The blondes hands fall immediately to her ass, pulling her closer, almost an automatic reaction when they are in this position.

"Hmmm, then so what do I have to do to get an answer to that question?", Ali asks as she snakes her hands around to the back of the Ashlyn's neck. 

In a much lower and quieter voice than the rest of the conversation, Ashlyn tells her, while her hands slowly go up her back, pulling her closer, "I think you already know the answer to that". With that Ali leans down while Ashlyn leans up, their lips barely touching. Ali mumbles to her "are you sure this will work?", within a second, Ashlyn responds "I guess we will see."

With that, their lips slowly come together, the kiss turning into a mix of passion and desire, tongues exploring each others mouth. Neither are trying to take it to the next level, they are just enjoying the closeness and intimacy of what this is bringing. After enjoying each other, with no other cares in the world, they slowly separate with only their foreheads touching. 

Quietly, Ali asks, "are you happy"?

A smile comes to Ashlyn's face, "you have no idea how happy you make me. I love kissing you, but honestly, it's so much more. I can't wait to get to know you better and get even closer to you. I already can't imagine my life without you." Slowly pulling away so both of you can look into each others eyes. Before she continues, she reaches out and cups Ali's face, "Ali, you make my heart skip a beat every time I think about you. I know we did everything backwards, but I wouldn't change a thing." Going out on a limb, she takes a deep breath before continuing, feeling that a tear may spill at any point. "I know we haven't really even dated yet, but I can't wait to call you my girlfriend. In one sense, it already feels like it, you know, just without the title."

A tear slowly falls out of one Ashlyn's eyes while Ali's own eyes are starting to glisten over at this heartfelt confession. Ali moves her hand up to Ashlyn's face, wiping away the fallen tear, before responding. "Baby" she breathes out, "I can't wait for that", a tear starts making its way down her own cheek. "You have made me forget that I have fallen short in accomplishing my dreams, to wanting to support yours. You make me dream new dreams for my life and those involve you." Shaking her head, while continuing, "I don't know if it's infatuation, lust, or honest to god true feelings, but how you have made me feel the last few weeks, it is… I don't know, I can't put it in words. I have been going through life numb until I met you and since then, it's like, I'm seeing the world in color again instead of black and white."

Both women wearing content smiles, just stare at each other, taking in all of the emotions and words that were just shared. 

As fast as the confidence to share her inner most feelings came up, the doubt and insecurities came back faster. Breaking the spell, Ali moves her hands in front of her and nervously starts fidgeting with her fingers. "Ash" shifting her gaze from her hands to the woman in front of her, "ARE we moving too fast? Are we just caught up in everything right now, putting high expectations and pressure on all of this and that we are going to crash and burn?"

A sigh comes from Ashlyn as she looks down at Ali's fidgeting fingers. "I don't know, Al" she quietly says before continuing. "Do I think we are going to have this perfect relationship with no issues? No. I can't promise you that we won't fail, but right now, I can't even imagine it. I feel such a connection with you, I mean, I think you feel it too". You meet Ali's eyes as she nods in agreement, "so I'm going to take that and run with it". 

Ali chuckles to herself before letting Ashlyn in on the joke. "So, this is that insecurity piece I was worried about", shifting off Ashlyn's lap. 

"We all have them, it's just whether or not you let them take over." Ashlyn says honestly before staring straight ahead. She turns her head, looking at Ali before continuing. "Honesty, right?", taking a deep breath while Ali nods and takes one of the blondes hand in her own. "I'm not saying this with any objective, it's just something I want you to know. I'm not ready for this step or anything so, don't freak out", she says with a nervous chuckle. 

Ali has no clue where this is going and is on edge waiting for the shoe to drop. She feels sick to her stomach. 

Finally, the blonde gets the courage to continue, quietly, almost as a whisper, "I've never been in love before or told anyone I have loved them besides family, and that was basically non-existent." Her head dropping down to their hands, shaking off the tears that are forming. "There is so much you don't know about my past and I'm scared. I'm scared that I'm feeling things I have never felt before and when you get to know me more, you are going to leave like everyone else I've been close too." 

She watches as the blonde completely breaks down in front of her. Going from this confident woman to this scared and vulnerable girl. "Oh baby, it's okay", she says pulling Ashlyn into her chest. "I got you, I'm not going anywhere", rubbing her back, just holding her tight. 

After a few minutes, Ashlyn pulls out of the embrace, wiping her eyes with the back of her hands. "So yeah", she chuckles, "so much for all confidence about us moving forward and not being scared". She laughs this time a little louder, "I guess you know I'm full of shit", shaking her head. 

Ali interrupts her, "stop", raising her eye brows at her, saying it in an authoritative voice. "We both have our baggage that we will work through together. But listen to me Harris, I have told people I have loved them, but nothing compares to what I am feeling, you got that?", squeezing their intertwined hands. 

A small smile starts to come to Ashlyn's face, "got it, boss". Ali starts to mirror her smile, "good", moving to give her a small peck on her lips. "Now what do you say, we lay here, watch some football and stop being emotional disasters."

"Sounds like a plan" Ashlyn says as she goes to lay down on the couch, Ali following her lead, laying in front of her. She grabs Ashlyn's hand and pulls it over her side, feeling a light squeeze. Within twenty minutes or so, Ali begins to feel little puffs of air on the back of her neck. She assumes Ashlyn is asleep at this point so she tries as gracefully and quietly as she can to flip over so they are facing each other. 

With Ashlyn's arm still around her waist, Ali just stares back at the peacefully sleeping blond in front of her. She was surprised at the emotions and words the blonde shared but vowing to be open and honest with her, not like there was ever a doubt. She feels sleep taking over so cuddles down into Ashlyn's chest, folding her arms close to her chest to try and be as close as possible and falls into a peaceful slumber. 

\---------- (Ash)

You start shifting on the couch and slowly open your eyes. You see that Ali has turned and is facing into your chest, your face on the top of her head, your left arm wrapped tightly around her waist. You love the way she fits perfectly against you and just how comfortable it is to have her sleep in your arms. You love feeling the rise and fall of her chest against yours. You decide you don't want to wait till Monday to take her out, you want to do it tonight. You aren't even sure if she is available, but never hurts to ask.

Unaware of how much time has passed, you start to feel the beautiful woman in your arms stirring. You have just been laying there enjoying the feeling your bodies together, taking in the smell of her hair, and dreaming of your possible future together. You find yourself daydreaming of when you can wake up with her in your arms every morning, of when you get to ask her to be yours forever, of when you have your hand on her growing baby bump of the child she is carrying, and of when you are laying in this same position with her in your arms along with your baby, making a family.

Ali starts to stretch and moves her head back a bit, opening her eyes and meeting yours. A smile comes to her face as she leans up to put a gently kiss on your lips. 

"Hey you" she says sleepily, moving her right hand up to brush your check. Your smile growing to show off your dimpled cheek, you whisper back "hey baby. You sleep ok?"

Ali nods in agreement before mumbling "always sleep good in your arms" as she snuggles back into your chest. You kiss the top of her head and pull her so your bodies are completely flush, letting her know, "me too."

"How long you been awake?", she asks since you no longer have sleep in your voice. You shrug, kissing the top of her head before answering, "not sure, but don't think that long. Just been thinking about you and enjoying holding you". She gives you a little squeeze before you faintly hear, "mmmm, anything good?".

Before you answer, you shift your body so you are laying on your back, her head now on your chest, arms wrapped around her tight. "Maybe. Maybe not", shrugging before she lifts her head up a bit to glance up at you while you look down with a smile. "Actually", you start, "I was curious what you were doing tonight? Kinda wanted to move that date up from Monday. I don't want to wait any longer".

You feel Ali moving her right hand slowly up and down your stomach before she responds, her touch driving you crazy. You hear a sigh coming from her and your smile drops a little since you feel like it's not going to be the response you were wanting. 

"Well, I do have plans tonight, so can't have date night", Ali says with a bit of a disappointed tone in her voice. She taps your stomach before continuing, "but know, that I don't want to wait any longer either. If you are willing to be daring, you could come with me tonight"?

"Hmmm…" you answer with a furrowed brow. "Daring, huh. What exactly are you doing tonight?"

Ali lifts up a bit to look in your eyes and smiles, "Going out to dinner with my brother".

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not very eventful, but hopefully next one should be a bit more entertaining. Slowly we are progressing. haha. 
> 
> I originally thought this would be 15 or so chapters long, apparently, I'm in for the long haul.
> 
> Thoughts/comments? Too fast/slow? Boring? :)


	18. New Partner in Crime

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dinner with Kyle and then off for some dancing.
> 
> This starts PG and quickly goes downhill, so be warned.

\----- Ash

When you finally left Ali's earlier today after agreeing to dinner with her brother, you found yourself missing her. You know you always hate feeling like you are alone, but right now, you do feel alone. You realize how lonely it is when you are not around her and you wish you could spend more time than you already do with her. 

On one hand, you can't believe how much you just opened yourself up this morning. Yes, you are a person that wears their emotions on your sleeve, but not when it comes to your heart. There is something about Ali that is different, you can't really put your finger on it. She just seems like such an open, genuine, and honest person. You really can't believe how she has even been single this long. Neither of you have opened up about your pasts since you started this pursuit of a relationship and you know at some point that is going to have to happen. You are happy to live in this blissful world, ignoring anything that could burst your bubble. 

Ali is coming by your place at 6:45, and you guys are meeting Kyle at 7 at Unum. Luckily, it is right around the corner so you don't have to hurry. You have been there a few times and really like it so are excited to be going somewhere you can have a little bit of comfort. You have met Kyle before, but this is a little more 'official' then the last time. You still aren't at the girlfriend title level, but yet another thing that screams you are already there in your minds. 

You decided to go somewhat causal in just a pair of black jeans, black t-shirt, and boots, basically your staple. As you are finishing putting on a touch of cologne, you hear a knock on the door. A smile easily comes to your face since you know what's on the other side of the door. 

Opening the door, you spot a similarly easy smile reflecting yours. Her voice, music to your ears, "hey baby". Your smile growing exponentially at her words, you open the door wide to let her in. She gives you a quick peck as she passes in the door. Once you shut the door, you close the space between you two, pulling her in your arms. "Did you honestly think you could get away with just that?", you use your thumb to point towards the door. 

A hearty laugh emanates from the girl in your arms before telling you, "I knew you couldn’t only handle one", rising up on her tip toes, wrapping her hands around your neck. Smirking, you tell her, your lips barely touching hers, "I can't handle anything when it comes to you". Your lips come together in a very slow motion, your tongue tracing her bottom lip, wanting her mouth to invite you in. Almost as soon your tongue hit her lip, she opened the kiss and started deeply kissing you back. You can feel the heat rising from your toes, hands gripping her waist tighter by the second. You hear her let out a soft moan and realize you need to pull out of this kiss before you miss dinner completely. As you slowly pull away, you are already missing the closeness. You both open your eyes, looking deeply into each other. Her mumble bringing you back to the moment, "we could have stood my brother up, I would gladly rather being doing this". You chuckle lightly, "me too, princess, but I have a feeling your brother would track us down and find us". She just groans before agreeing with you. 

You both get out of the house a few minutes later, walking the couple of blocks to the restaurant. You love that she grabs for your hand once out on the sidewalk. She told you that she called and changed the reservation for 3 but didn't tell her brother that you were coming. You arrive right at 7 and are told that the first person from your party has checked in. You take a deep breath, following behind the hostess and Ali as you make your way to the table. You keep your hand on her back as you weave in and out of the tables to the one Kyle is sitting at, in the back of the restaurant. 

You can tell he only sees Ali first as he stands to give her a hug but his eyes get wide while looking over her shoulder in the hug, saying "Well, I didn't know you had a plus one joining us tonight"?

Ali turns around and smiles at you, saying "I knew if I gave you a head's up you would have had way too much time to prepare", laughing at her brother as he acts shocked. 

"Alex, you know me way too well", laughing himself at the comment while he goes to give you a hug. As you two pull away from the hug, you make sure to pull out Ali's chair before she is ready to sit. Kyle just stands behind his chair looking down at it and then back at you. He clears his throat, still looking at his chair. 

Ali rolls her eyes, "stop being such a queen and sit down". You are just looking between the two, lost in what is actually happening. Ali leans over while Kyle is sitting down and tells you, "he is a drama queen, get used to it, and then ignore him". You smirk, looking across the table at him, shaking your head, saying to the table, "so a princess and queen, not sure how I'm going to keep up with this duo".

Kyle tilts the menu down, looking over at you before saying, "flattery goes far… along with spoiling the shit out of us." Ali backhands his arm before scolding him, "maybe let's try to be more than two minutes into our dinner before you start showing off all your charm".

You enjoy watching their easy nature and you see why she said they were really close. You still are amazed at how similar they look, especially when they smile. 

When the waitress comes over to introduce herself and take a drink order, you defer to Ali first. She orders red wine and you decide to go for the same. "Should we share a bottle?" you ask, while Kyle orders sparkling water. Ali nods in your direction and the waitress changes the order. 

Once the waitress steps away, Kyle asks about last night, "so how was the concert? Who was it again"?

Ali answers before you get a chance to, "it was amazing, actually. It was Alexi Murdoch, have you heard of him"? Kyle shakes his head no, so she continues. "You should listen to the song 'All My Days', it's so good, it was my favorite of the night". As she says that, she looks in your direction and puts her hand on your knee. You beam with pride, hopefully knowing the reason why she said that. You drop your hand on top of hers and give it a light squeeze. 

Watching the interaction between his sister and yourself, Kyle makes a note on his phone of the artist, before focusing on you. "Alright Ashlyn, Ali hasn't been all that forthcoming on you, so time to get grilled". You smile at him, hoping that he isn't going to go all alpha big brother on you, "bring it". 

"Ok, so first off, I just have to say, I love your sleeve, so that’s a bonus point", he says while pulling up his sleeve slightly. 

Your eyes widen some before responding, "oh man, I didn't know you had a sleeve, it looks beautiful, I would love to see them up close some time. Do you have any more?"

Kyle nods lifting his other shirt sleeve, showing off a set of trees, starting at his wrist, "and also my chest". You start to feel automatically at ease, just with this simple interaction. You are curious about his chest, "what do you have on your chest"?

He stands up like he is going to take off his shirt before Ali just says "no" and grabs his arm. Kyle rolls his eyes, "I was only kidding, geez. Actually it was the date I got sober, five, six, seven", pointing to each tattoo, over his shirt. 

"Oh", you say, a little surprised and a bit embarrassed at the same time, "I'm sorry, I didn't know, I wouldn't have ordered the bottle of wine."

Kyle just swats his hand in the air, "don't worry about it, I can be around it all. Plus, my sister is a wine whore so I had to learn quick". You force a small smile at Ali while she rolls her eyes. This is starting to hit a little close to home for you. To help alleviate any awkwardness, you chime in "That's really amazing Kyle", before starting to fidget with your hands under the table. You try to take in the situation and whether you should let some of your baggage out to Ali and her brother. You realize that it's going to have to come out at some point, so might as well do it now. 

As you are going to speak, the waitress brings the drinks back to the table, wonderful timing. You all cheers to being new friends and settle back into the conversation.

"So", you start, trying to keep your voice even, "my family has addiction issues so I know first hand how hard it can be to overcome it all." You can feel Ali looking at you out of the corner of your eye, taking in this new information. She starts moving her hand up and down your leg in a comforting way. You rub your neck, taking a deep breath before continuing, "yeah, my mom and dad basically walked out on my brother and I, and then my brother got involved in it all". You reach for her hand now to hold and her squeezing it. It gives you strength you never have felt before when dealing with this. You chuckle, "probably way more than you were expecting to hear from me about addiction tonight.", shaking your head. 

Kyle gets up from the table and walks over to you, arms outstretched, saying "come here". You stand up and welcome his embrace, telling you "thanks for sharing that, I'm sure it's not easy. If you ever need to talk, let me know." You nod, letting him know, "I really appreciate that Kyle, same goes for you."

As you pull apart, you see Ali just watching this exchange between her brother and yourself, eyes starting to glisten. You lean down and kiss the top of her head, whispering, "we can talk about it some other time". She nods, smiling up at you with one of her beautiful smiles. 

Once Kyle sits back down, he makes sure the mood is lightened by telling them "ok, now that debbie downer over here is done wallowing, I need to know more about you." A smile comes across your face, you like this guy.

Tapping your chin, "let's see. I don't know what Ali has told you or not, so sorry if I sound like a broken record. I'm from a small beach town in Florida." That's all you get out before you are interrupted by Kyle.

"Oh my god, do you surf"? You nod your head with a smirk coming to your face. Kyle slams his hands on the table, making much more noise than he was anticipating. "We are so going sometime." He turns to Ali and tells her, "Sorry, she is my girlfriend now, you can just have her for the sex part cause ick". This elicits a hardy laugh from everyone at the table. You chime in, "well, when I need a beard, I know who to call". Ali laughs harder at that before chiming in "I'm probably more masculine than he is".

The waitress comes back to take your orders and you all settle in to good conversation the rest of the meal. You really like Kyle and can see the bond these two share. You also know in this brief time at dinner, Kyle is someone that you could count on if needed. You also think of how a few weeks ago, neither of these people were in your life and now, you feel like your life would missing an important piece if they weren't there. 

As the plates are cleared, Kyle announces to the table, "I want to go dancing, please say you will come with me". He then faux covers his mouth like he is trying to be secretive when telling them "I need to get laid". You and Ali both groan, her covering her ears saying "too much, Kyle".

The thought of going out to a club sounds fun since the only other time you were able to do that with Ali, you were still in that middle zone at camp. Now, you think, you can actually dance with her, something you couldn't do before. 

You shrug, looking at her, "I'd be up for it if you are". You wonder if Ali is thinking something similar as she confirms, "Yeah, could be fun. This time maybe you will actually dance with me instead of just staring over Whit's shoulder at me".

"Oh, so I was the one staring?", you ask pointing to yourself, "from what I recall, you weren't being coy with those looks you were giving me either". She lays her hand on your forearm, laughing at the memory before adding, "well, it worked didn't it"? You lean over and kiss her cheek, "it sure did".

You are broken out of your moment by Kyle making a gagging sound across the table. "Ugh, you guys are disgustingly cute. I'm going to run to the restroom before we take off". With that, he leaves the table, and you two are alone for the first time since you sat down. Ali turns to you with a bit more serious face, "thank you for sharing earlier with Kyle. It looked like it took a lot out of you, but I know it meant a lot to him." A small smile comes to your face, shrugging your shoulders, "sorry it's the first time you heard about that. It's something I want to talk to you about, I mean, it's a huge part of my story, I just, I don't know." 

Ali brings you out of your rambling, "baby, no rush on any of that. I'm not judging you or anything like that. Watching Kyle go through all of that was hell, I can't imagine what you went through. It just shows me how strong you are and it's another thing I admire about you."

You are actually speechless for a moment. You lean your head over until your foreheads are touching, before softly saying, "that means a lot, Al. In time, I'll tell you everything. It's hard to talk about, it's embarrassing". She interrupts you, "you have nothing to be embarrassed about. It's part of who you are, and I want to know all of it, not just the good parts". You lean forward just giving a light, chaste kiss to her that is promptly interrupted by Kyle returning, telling you two to get a room. 

"On that note…", Ali gets up and goes to the restroom, leaving just you and Kyle at the table. She is barely gone before he pulls his phone out and hands it to you, "I need your number since I know who she will be spending all of her time with." You laugh, taking it and putting in your info. As you are handing it back to him, you tell him "thanks for letting me crash your dinner tonight, I'm glad we got a chance to hang out." 

Kyle sends you a quick text so you have his number, "you will have to do it more often, you are much more interesting then Alex". You shake your head at him while a small laugh comes out of your mouth.

One of the things you guys talked about at dinner was Kyle's photography, which was really intriguing to you. "so what's your Insta, I want to see some of your stuff." You pull it up after you find his username and follow him. As his phone dings with the alert, Ali sits down asking what you two are doing glued to your phones. Kyle clues her in, "about to stalk through your girl's instagram to find all her dirty secrets."

Ali grabs his phone, "let me take a look", as she scrolls through some of the photos. "ESPN told me I need to update mine, I guess I should start doing that. Apparently, people care about that stuff.", handing his phone back over.

"I guess I need to make sure not to post any incriminating photos now that you two are going to be following me.", winking at Ali as you put your phone back in your pocket. Ali turns to you, "well, if you haven't seen what Kyle posts about, nothing can be as incriminating as that. It's awesome to see half naked photos of your brother every other day.", rolling her eyes. 

Kyle just shrugs, "it's what the people want".

You stand up, "let me run to the restroom really fast and I'll be ready". On your way back to the table, you see Kyle's hand over Ali's like they are in some deep conversation, but you see Ali smiling, so you hope whatever is being said, probably about you, is a good thing. As you approach the table, you make your presence felt, clearing your throat, "ok, you two. No more serious talks the rest of the night, let's go get Kyle laid". Ali just groans as you are pulling out her chair for her to stand, as she adds, "ugh, not you too. I can tell this might have been a bad idea introducing you two." 

Kyle wraps his arm around your shoulder, now standing as well, telling Ali, "you see bb, I have a new partner in crime". Ali just looks at you two, shaking her head, "wonderful." 

 

\---- Ali

When the Uber arrives at the club, Ali fills in Ashlyn that a friend of Kyle's own this place so the like coming here. Ashlyn just nods, following their lead into the club without having to wait in line or pay. Ali leads Ashlyn by the hand as they weave their way back to a roped off VIP section that has a few of Kyle's friends, including Klay, the owner of the club. Unsure of how to introduce Ashlyn to the group, since she is more than a friend but not yet defined as more. She sticks with just using her name and figure they can figure out the rest. 

She is learning that Ashlyn can pretty much get along with anyone. She easily fits in with the group after the introductions, all of them now sitting in a large booth. One thing that Ali also likes is how she is always making sure that she is comfortable and okay. When Ali slid in, she immediately put her hand on her leg, smiling at the contact. 

"Do you want something to drink?" Ashlyn asks, pointing to the bottles on the table.

Ali nods, "I'll just take some champagne". Ashlyn smiles, pouring them two glasses and then giving a small cheers before they start sipping. Both are already on the edge of feeling good from sharing a bottle of wine with dinner. It's not going to take more than one or two glasses for them to get a little tipsy. For once, neither has plans for exercise the next day so they both figure, they can allow themselves some fun. 

As the night goes on, they watch Kyle out on the dance floor, moving between different people, having a great time. In the booth, the drinks have been going back easily and the flirting between the two has been kicked up a level. 

Ashlyn leaning over into Ali's ear so she can be heard, "when do I get to take you out there and show you all of my moves?" Ali's hand grips down a little harder on Ashlyn's leg before responding, "I'm ready when you are. Are you sure you can handle mine"?

"Let's do this", Ashlyn proclaims, patting her hand on Ali's thigh. They both scoot out of the booth, leaving their empty glasses behind, Ashlyn pulling Ali out to the dance floor. 

The more they are dancing with each other, the more turned on Ali is getting. After the drinks, music, and feeling the blondes hands roam up down her body, she is slowing losing control. Ashlyn must be as well, the way her body is grinding into hers and the look in her eyes could set something on fire. 

Ali turns her body so her ass is grinding into Ashlyn's front while her hands reach behind and grab onto the back of her legs. She hears Ashlyn moan before kissing below her ear on her neck. Thankful that the club is dark and they are fairly off in a corner, Ali finds Ashlyn's right hand with hers and brings it to the front of her jeans. She slowly takes it and moves it where she needs it most. 

As she guides Ashlyn's hand gently back and forth, the blonde moans again, lightly biting Ali's shoulder and tells her, "I can't be in here any longer with you. I'm starting to lose control." With that Ali spins around so their bodies are flush, looking into Ashlyn's black, hooded eyes. She leans forward and places a searing, open mouthed kiss while her hands are running through her hair. Ali pulls away, looking into her eyes before pulling Ashlyn's head down to hers, so she can speak into her ear. "I need you inside of me right now, you are driving me insane." 

She hears the blonde moan while she pulls her tighter into her body. It's at this point, Ali remembers something from the last time she was here with Kyle. She pulls away to look into Ashlyn's face, biting her bottom lip accompanied by a cheeky smile, "c'mon", she says, turning out of Ashlyn's grip, grabbing her hand and dragging her to the back of the club. 

Within a minute, they are standing at a door with a number pad lock. Ashlyn's arms immediately wrap in her midsection, whispering "what are you doing princess"? At the same time she got the last word out, Ali punched the last number in and the door opened. Ali steps inside yanking Ashlyn behind her, then dead bolting the door. 

"The perks of knowing the owner gets you into the private bathroom", Ali says as she reels Ashlyn back into her grips. Ashlyn starts getting a cheeky smile across her face, pulling Ali into her embrace before saying in a low, husky tone "you are always surprising me, now tell me what you want me to do to you?"

Ali moves her hands to Ashlyn's chest, pushing her back towards the counter behind them so she has her full body flush on the blond. Hearing the start of the song "Often" by the Weekend filtering into the room like they are still on the dance floor, Ali starts moving her body on Ashlyn to the beat before telling her, "what I want you to do is fuck me how you were thinking of fucking me out there", reaching up to caress one of Ashlyn's breast before pinching down on her nipple. 

The blonde moans loudly at her words and actions. She pulls Ali into a kiss that says it all before spinning her around so her ass is shoved into the front her. Ali moans while starting to grind back into Ashlyn, her hands going up behind her head to pull Ashlyn's mouth to her neck. She feels the blonde starting to suck on her pulse point while her hands are moving up her thighs, up into the front of her shirt, under her bra and roughly pinching her nipples. Ali's back arches at the contact, moans competing with the bass coming through the speakers. 

Both of the blondes hands are now covering her breasts, squeezing and pinching them, while her mouth is moving all over her neck, alternating small bites and open mouthed kisses. Ali needs her somewhere else and it's almost like she is reading her mind. She feels her right breast become naked from the lack of a large, controlling hand but is comforted when she can feels fingertips starting to undo the button on her jeans. 

She feels short and excited breathing on her neck as the button on her jeans pop open and the zipper slowly going down. What turned her on most was that Ashlyn was as turned on as she was and wasn't into wasting time. She feels teeth raking over her ear before hearing, "I need to be inside you, I want to fuck you hard so you are still feeling it when we leave." Ali moans so loud as her floodgates open. She reaches down and pulls her pants and thong down, mid-thigh, so Ashlyn can really get her hand in there. She feels the blondes long skilled fingers gliding over her until reaching her throbbing clit. Two loud moans fill the room when Ali feels two fingers rubbing over her sensitive bud. She is already close to coming so she knows it's not going to take long. 

As she reaches up to cover the breast that was left naked, she feels the blondes fingers slip down to her opening. "Fuck Alex, you are so wet!" Ashlyn all but yelled at this point, grinding more into Ali's ass, fingers gliding through her folds. "All for you baby, now fuck me, I need you now." With that, Ashlyn roughly shoves her two fingers inside of her, Ali's body arching into the pleasure, moaning, aching for release. She starts chanting, low, but loud enough for the blonde to hear "fuck me harder." Ashlyn doesn't waste any time to start pumping in and out of her at a fevered pace while her thumb is rubbing her clit. Between that, her nipples being pulled and pinched, and Ashlyn biting on her shoulder, she feels her orgasm coming on strong. 

"Oh, Ashlyn, I'm coming, fuck me, I'm coming, fuck…" Is the last thing she can get out as she pours onto Ashlyn's hand which slows down considerably as she brings her down. Her left arm moving from her breast to wrap around Ali's body to help hold her up, as she has thrown her head back and rested her body back on the blond. 

"Holy shit" Ali breathes out, still trying to catch her breath. A soft kiss is placed to her head, before Ashlyn says in her ear "are you okay? I'm sorry if I was too rough, I got carried away in it all", slowly pulling out of Ali completely, wrapping her other arm around her body. 

Ali slowly turns around so they are facing each other, both sweaty and slightly in a daze. "You have nothing to be sorry about, I really don't know what came over me. I just needed you." She chuckles before putting her forehead into her chest. 

"Hey, come here" Ashlyn says while her lifting up her chin, Ali continuing when their eyes meet, "I can't say I've ever done this before so I think I was just so turned on, between our emotional morning together, dinner tonight and everything that went along with that, and then tonight on the dance floor, I totally lost it."

"Well, if it makes you feel better" Ashlyn says, raising an eyebrow before continuing, "I've never done it either and honestly it was so hot. Sex with you is always mind blowing." Leaning down to kiss her gently, before their tongues begin to explore each other's mouth. The passion within them rising quickly as Ali's hands find Ashlyn's button on her jeans and rips them all open. She moves off of her lips, on to her jawline and then over to her neck. She can feel Ashlyn's hands on her hips as she slowly moves her hands up the blondes shirt to her perky breasts. As she works her way under her sports bra she moves up to lightly pull on her ear with her teeth as she pinches down on her erect nipples earning a moan in her ear. Ali can also start feeling the blonde squirming under her needing more. She pulls her hands off her breasts to her pants and pulls them down along with her boxers. 

"I hope you are as wet as I am" Ali says as her fingers start to feel for her clit. This earns her another moan and tightened hands on her waist, Ashlyn's nails digging deep into her skin. "Baby, I'm so ready for you to take me. I need to feel you. I am already so close", Ashlyn already panting from the brunettes initial touches. Ali whispers in her ear, "sit on the counter."

As Ashlyn adjusts herself on the counter, Ali pulls the blonde's pants down to her ankles so she can place one leg in between her spread legs. She moves her mouth back to Ashlyn's, immediately putting her tongue in. As her tongue is stroking her, Ali, pushes her two fingers into Ashlyn, earning a loud moan into her mouth. As Ali is rapidly bringing her closer to the edge, she goes back to sucking her pulse point, Ashlyn grabbing onto any part of her body she can, settling on her tight ass. While Ali had pulled up her pants, she hadn't re-buttoned them yet, so Ashlyn was able to dig her hands on her bare skin. 

Ashlyn, struggling to hang on tells Ali, "I want your mouth on me." Ali just moans as she quickly adjusts herself in between her legs and gets on her knees. Fingers still moving in and out of her with pace, she puts her tongue on Ashlyn's throbbing clit. As soon as her tongue touched her, Ashlyn's hand moved to the back of Ali's head, pushing her as far as she can on to her. Within seconds, her body is start to shake, hips thrusting forward, left hand grabbing the edge of the counter holding on for dear life. 

Ali can feel the blonde spilling over her hand and chin simultaneously as she hears a continuous string of curse words spewing out of Ashlyn's mouth. Ali loves the way she tastes and moans as she pulls out her fingers and uses her tongue to completely clean her up. She feels Ashlyn using her hand to pull her up towards her, wanting to hold her and kiss her deeply before telling her, "Fuck Al" she breathes out. She continues, "You are fucking incredible. Promise you will never stop doing that to me." A crinkled grin comes to her face as she tells her, "never".

Ashlyn hops off the counter as Ali steps back out from between her legs, pulling up and buttoning her pants. They look at each other with guilty smiles as they try and get their clothing adjusted to walk back out there. They notice they have only been in there about 10 minutes, which they both laugh about, neither of them "taking very long."

As Ali goes to open the door, she pulls Ashlyn into an embrace, just enjoying this semi-private moment before going out into the middle of a club. "Thank you for just trusting me and following me back here", Ali says with a lite chuckle. Ashlyn shakes her head, pulling her tighter, "I'd follow you anywhere, babe", giving her a little kiss on her nose. "Mmmm" Ali says back to her, "I like the way that sounds. Do you want to get out of her and go home"? A smirk comes on Ashlyn's face, picking up that she said 'home' and not 'my place' or 'your place'. After a few seconds, Ali realizes what she said, shrugging her shoulders and saying "just practicing, I guess". They both bring their lips together for one final quick kiss, each one vowing internally for the day when that's true. 

They go back into the club, looking for Kyle so they can tell them they are leaving. Ali sees him sitting at their table, obviously taking a break from dancing. As they come into view, Ali sees Kyle narrow his eyes, getting up from the booth. 

"Um, and where have you been? I looked all over for you, I thought you left" Kyle asks them, eyeing both of them for their answer. 

"We were dancing by the other bar over there", Ali turns and points in the general direction of the bar on the other side of the room. 

As Ali is turning around, she hears Kyle squeal, "OH MY GOD ALEXANDRIA!", covering his face with his hands.

Ali just looks at Ashlyn confused, who just shrugs at the dramatic display in front of her, before saying back to him, "Kyle, what is your deal"?

Kyle, basically doubled over in laughter, telling them "You two totally just got it on! Oh my god, it's so obvious", pointing to their clothes, "and the hickeys you both are sporting don't help things."

Both of the girls throw their hands up to their necks, eyes wide looking at each other. Ali takes a deep breath, shaking her head, telling him "whatever, we are leaving Kyle. I just wanted to tell you bye".

He realizes Ali is about to turn and leave, so decides to ease up a little, "bb, c'mon, I'm just giving you a hard time. Give me a hug." As they are embracing, Kyle says in her ear "I totally know you were having sex in the bathroom back there. I went to use it and heard you two." As they separate, Ali who is utterly embarrassed at this point shakes her head but Kyle holds on to her shoulders, looking her in the eyes, before continuing. "I'm so proud of you for not giving a fuck and just doing what you want, okay?" A small, shy smile comes to her face as she nods at his words, proud of herself too.

After letting go of Ali, Kyle turns to Ashlyn to give her a hug. Once embraced, Kyle tells her "thanks for making my sister happy again, she deserves the world." Ashlyn pats his back in the hug, telling them before they separate, "I plan on giving her that and so much more." They both share a smile as they move away from each other, Ali eyeing them both suspiciously. Ashlyn looks over to her, asking Ali if she is ready. As she is nodding, Ashlyn takes her hand in hers, and leads her outside the club. 

As soon as they are outside, waiting for their car, Ali buries her head into Ashlyn's chest. Ashlyn can hear her mumbled words, "I am so embarrassed right now". Ashlyn, whose arms are wrapped around Ali, providing some warmth on the cold night tells her, "sorry about the hickey, I didn't realize. If it helps, it's barely noticeable since it's by the collar of your shirt."  
Ali pulls back with a smile, "um, yeah, that’s the least of my worries. Kyle totally heard us having sex". Ashlyn's eyes go wide, "are you serious? How"? Ali, starting to see the humor in it and the fact that she is still a bit tipsy tells her, "apparently he came to use that bathroom…"

Ashlyn busts out laughing, "of course he did. I guess, at least look on the bright side, he could have totally banged on the door stopping us." Ali chuckles and adds, "I'm not sure anything would have stopped me back there." Ashlyn just smiles down at her, giving her a soft kiss on her head. 

As the car pulls up and they get inside, they cuddle into each other for the 10 minute drive back to Georgetown. As they are getting close to her place, Ali looks over to Ashlyn asking, "do you want to stay tonight"? A smile comes across the blonde's face, along with a raised eye brow, countering back, "Actually, it's my turn to cook you breakfast, so was going to see if you wanted to stay with me"? 

Ali gets a wide smile and nods, "would you mind just coming to my place so I can grab some things"? Ashlyn nods, before saying, "obviously, we are getting into a pattern, would it be worth just leaving some things at the other's place, for these type of nights? Is it too soon for that"?

Ali laughs before responding, "the way this is going, we will be living together by the time we have our first date on Monday… not that I would be complaining.", placing a kiss on Ashlyn's cheek. Ashlyn looks over at her, squeezes her leg, adding, "no complaints here, I love holding you to go to sleep and waking up seeing your face".

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Was going to split this into two chapters but thought I would be nice. It just means you may not get anything else until later this week or early next week. :) Date night will be next (I think). 
> 
> Hopefully the club scene wasn't over the top. haha.
> 
> Side note: I finally went back and looked at the 2015 schedule so going to adjust some things in prior chapters Doesn't really affect anything moving forward, just trying to get that part a little closer (still may not be exact).


	19. First Time for Everything

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally, the first date.

\----- Ali

After a Sunday that started off with slight hangovers, the rest of the day was spent on the couch watching movies and just snuggling with each other for the day. 

She finally had, begrudgingly, headed back home from Ashlyn's, late in the afternoon to an empty house and was resigned to being alone for the evening. She found herself not having any motivation to clean up the house or doing her research for the week. Instead, she moped around before finally settling on the couch to catch up on some of the matches from earlier in the day. As she laid there, she thought back on the last few days. She was reflecting on how, ever since Friday night, she had been wrapped up in Ashlyn. Now that she has a spare minute, she realizes how much she misses her. 

Ashlyn is leaving for Europe on Wednesday for a couple of games, and will be gone almost two weeks. She has only been away from her for three hours and she is yearning for her touch. She knew going into this, that between her and Ashlyn's professions, they would be away from each other. She is lucky enough that ESPN covers a little more than half of the games this year, including the World Cup. Unfortunately, while they are on these trips, they need to be professional and definitely can't be acting like how they have been since Ashlyn got back to DC.

One thing she is beyond excited about is their date night on Monday. The official first date. She laughs when thinking about how they have acted since they first kissed in LA. Honestly, she considers Ashlyn her girlfriend at this point. She doesn't need to 'date' her, it's not like she is going to be 'dating' anyone else. Either way, she plans, or at least hopes, to make it official tomorrow.

After catching up with a few friends over texts and promising to meet up with them later in the week, she decides she finally needs to talk to Kyle, even after the disaster of the night before. 

Ali: Hey bb

A few minutes pass before her phone vibrates.

Kyle: I'm sorry, who is this? My sex fiend of a sister? 

Ali: How long until I live that one down?

Kyle: Hunny, you ain't ever living that one down.

Ali: Hate you. 

Ali: What are you doing? Want to come over?

Kyle: Finally making time for me? Assuming your woman isn't around so you are bored and need to be entertained.

Ali: I have no idea what you are talking about. 

Kyle: I'll be over in twenty with food.

Kyle shows up in fifteen minutes with Thai food to share, ready to get his fill of the Ali/Ashlyn tornado that is ripping through DC at the moment. Once they get everything dished up, they head over to the couch to eat and gossip. 

"Ok, first off, I'm glad you brought her to dinner. It was good to get a glimpse at her personality through my own eyes and not just you telling me about her.", Kyle offers up first, adding "I really like her."

Having just taken a bite, Ali smiles and nods her head first in agreement before starting to talk. "I figured you would.", smiling brighter at her brother's admission. "Also, totally knew you would be pissed, even if took you a minute to get over the fact I didn't tell you.", she chuckles. 

"Well, there is that. Honestly, it was probably better this way", agreeing with his sisters tactics. Continuing, "so did you know about the whole addiction thing"? 

"That was the first I heard of it. We haven't discussed it, she said we could talk about it later. It definitely looked like it rattled her, but I was proud of her that she said something. She has said that she is nervous for me to learn about her past. I'm assuming, that is a big part of it.", she says, shrugging her shoulder. "Hopefully", she starts again, "now seeing that we", pointing between her and Kyle, "have made it through addiction issues, I am hoping she feels more comfortable with it all".

Kyle places his hand over hers, "Al, I think just be open to what she says and be patient. It's not easy, I mean, you know that. Look how long it took for me to even be open about it all after I got clean. If this is with her parents and them leaving her, I can't imagine." Ali just nods along as he continues, "Have you talked to her about any of your baggage?", hitting her shoulder with his. 

She sighs before starting "No. I know I need to, it just hasn't been the right time. I mean, we are just living on cloud nine right now. I was going to talk to her about it yesterday morning but we had this massive heart to heart and, it just wasn't the right time".

This time it's Kyle that sighs, "You both have lots to talk about apparently. I understand being caught up in it all, just don't sweep it under the rug or you guys won't survive."

"I know bb, I know. She is leaving for Europe on Wednesday for a couple of weeks so not sure it will happen until she gets back". After pausing for a few seconds, she adds "You know… we have our first date tomorrow night.", a cheeky smile coming to her face. 

"Oooh, finally, I mean, you have fucked each other in a club, so about time to go out on that first date". Kyle moves quickly out of the way after he says that, he knows a smack is coming.

Ali just groans, "could you really hear us"? 

Kyle just nods before adding, "I can't un-hear my sister saying she is coming". Ali, getting red, starts again, "oh my god, I am so embarrassed. I am still shocked I did that."

"I can't believe she just drug you off the dance floor and did that.", Kyle adds while laughing. 

"Um, yeah, so you know that was my idea…", Ali says before burying her head in her hands. 

Kyle just rolls off the couch onto the floor, yelling "OH MY GOD! Who are you, some fuckboy?! I love it!!"

"Anyway", Ali says, desperately wanting to change the subject, "so all I know is that we have dinner reservations at 730 and I'm to wear something nice."

"Alright then, let's see what we got to work with", Kyle takes Ali's hand and they go up to her bedroom. 

\-------- Ash

You walk over to her place after making one stop on your way. You have been pacing around in your apartment for the last thirty minutes, trying to make time speed up. You aren't sure if you have ever been this nervous for a date, or in life ever. You aren't even sure why you are, it's not like you haven't already made the dreaded first impression, this is just a formality. You hope this is the first date of many with Ali, you hope the rest of your life is taking her out on dates.

Here you stand on her doorstep. Inhale. Exhale. Knock. 

When the door opens, time stands still. You can't move. You can't speak. What stands in front of you is the most beautiful human being you have ever seen. You can see her moving her lips, but you can't hear her. Finally you come back to the moment, hearing "Ash" coming from her lips, with a furrowed brow. 

You slowly shake your head, laughing under your breath. Then your massive dimpled smile comes to your face. "You look stunning. Sorry, I lost my words for a minute." you tell the ravishing brunette in front of you. There she stands in a little black dress, that hits right below her knees, hair lightly curled and flowing over her shoulders.

One of the biggest smiles you have ever seen from her welcomes your observation. "Ash", she breathes out, "you look so unbelievably beautiful". You went through about five different outfits, with different pant, shirt, tie combinations before settling on this one. You wore your black suit pants and grey vest, with a black shirt, topped off with a maroon tie, and your hair down and straightened. 

"Here", you hold your hand out for her, realizing it's shaking. "I didn't want to come emptyhanded, but didn't want to be cliché and bring you flowers, so I settled for just one". As you hand her the one red rose you bought on the way over, she grabs hold of your other hand and pulls you in the house to close the door. 

"Baby, you are shaking. Are you cold?", she asks. You shake your head no, "Just nervous, I guess.", shrugging your shoulders. 

She takes the rose from your hand and wraps her hands around your neck. You move by instinct, pulling her waist into yours. Only being inches apart, she asks, "why are you nervous"?

You look straight into her eyes, showing all your fears and hesitations, "I don't know, I don't want to screw this up."

Her eyes, her beautiful brown eyes, look into your soul as she tells you, "you aren't going to screw this up. You already have my heart".

With that, your heart skips a beat as you close the gap. You whisper "you have mine for as long as you will have it", right before your lips gently touch. The electricity you feel is like the first time your lips touched. Almost immediately, you run the tip of your tongue over her bottom lip, she grants you entry as her lips slowly part. You let your tongue explore her mouth, completely wrapping your arms around her waist. As you slowly pull your tongue out, hers follows it. You love how gentle and slow she enters your mouth. One hand is still holding the rose you gave her, but the other is grasping your neck. As she continues slowly exploring your mouth, you right hand slips down to her ass and squeezes tightly. One thing you do enjoy is that when she wears heels, you are close to the same height. 

After what feels like hours, you two slowly pull away from each other, shy smiles on your face. You move your hand to her cheek, as she leans into it you tell her, "you are amazing. How am I supposed to go two weeks with you"?

She wraps one arm around your waist, telling you, "think about moments like this and how good the reunion will be when you get home". A smirk comes across your face before you add, "maybe later tonight you can give me something else to think about".

Before moving out of your embrace, she decides that hard to get is the angle she is going to go with. "We will see how the date goes first", patting your chest as she moves into the kitchen. You audibly groan at her response before following her. 

"I didn't get a chance to thank you for my rose", she says as she puts it into a small vase. She walks past you in the doorway, going to put it on the mantle of the fireplace. She doesn't see your shrug as you pivot back into the living room. You still can't shake the nerves running through your body. 

"I just need to put lipstick on and then I'm ready. I knew better then to put it on before you got here", she says winking to you as she walks into the downstairs bathroom. 

"Good call", you shout to her after taking a seat on her couch. 

A few minutes later, Ali walks out of the bathroom as you stand up to meet her. You reach for her coat that was over the arm of the couch and hold it up for her to step into. "Ready?", you ask, putting on your arm out for her to take. She nods, giving you a smile that goes through her eyes. 

As you get to your car, which you had moved closer to her place earlier in the day, you hurry to grab the door to open it for her. "I always forget how chivalrous you are", she says, resting her hand on yours on the top of the door. "Don't ever forget princess", you say as you close the door.

Once you are settled and about to start your drive, she leans in your direction, putting her hand on your leg. You love her touch and you don't think it will ever get old. She grounds you, in a good way, to the moment and it frees your mind. 

"Are you still not telling me where we are going?", she asks, flirting with her eyes while her hand runs up and down your thigh. 

You look over at her, shaking your head at her attempts to persuade you. "I'm pretty sure we will there soon enough. As you drive through the streets of DC, you arrive at BLT Steak, in the middle of downtown.

Pulling up to the valet, Ali turns to you exclaiming, "ASH!". It makes you jump a bit since you weren't expecting her extreme outburst, before chuckling to her, "Jesus Ali. What was that for"? 

"I LOVE this place and have been wanting to go", Ali excitedly tells you. You lean over and give her a quick kiss before telling her, "well, at least I didn't strike out before the date even started". 

As you are finishing your sentence, the valet comes over to get the car and open your doors. When Ali steps out of the car, you can see the looks she gets from the men (and women) around the door. On one hand, it makes you get all puffed up protective that they are leering at her like a piece of meat. You just want to grab her hand so they know she is yours. After walking over to be with her, waiting for the valet to give you the ticket, she wraps her arm around yours and squeezes. She must have seen the look in your eyes and the furrowed brow you had when you looked around at these people. She whispers in your ear, "don't worry, it's your name I'll be screaming later." A smirk comes across your face and you just lean over and kiss the side of her head.

After you get your valet ticket, you turn and open the door, escorting Ali inside, with your hand on her lower back. Keeping your hand on her, you tell the hostess, "Harris, party of two", Ali leans into you and smiles. This girl, man.

Like usual, once you get to the table, you rush around from behind her to pull out her chair. As she goes to sit, she flashes you a mega-watt smile while saying "thanks, baby". 

The hostess gives you the menus and asks if it's your anniversary. Your eyes meet Ali's, both holding in a laugh, before you turn to the young girl and say "Actually, it's our first date". Her eyes go large before she profusely starts to apologize. "Oh my god, I'm so sorry. You two just seem so in love, ugh. Sorry! Enjoy your dinner.", as she scurries away with her tail between her legs. 

Once she leaves, you both bust out laughing. "That was classic" you barely can get out, "I'm never going to forget that". Ali's hand covers yours on the table, "we definitely have a good story to tell." Her eyes are lingering on yours, you wonder if she is taking in what the girl actually said, 'you two just seem so in love'. You know it's replaying on a constant loop in your head, accompanied by your heart rate speeding up but feeling eerily calm at the same time. 

She finally decides to say something again, getting you out of your head. Quietly you hear, "what will people say about us when we are in love"? A shiver runs up your spine, your breath hitches, and a smile comes to your face before responding, "that must be what soulmates look like". 

She closes her eyes at your words and you take the opportunity to lean forward and place a gentle, chaste kiss on her lips. As your lips touch, she squeezes your hand and lets out a little moan only you can hear. 

\---------- Ali

If she wasn't falling in love with Ashlyn before tonight, she sure is starting to head down that path. They haven't even ordered their drinks yet and she is swooning. Between her cute nervousness when she first came to the house to her getting pissed those people were staring at her, she's never felt more for someone than she is feeling right now. 

Ali feels sorry for the poor hostess. She sees how she could make the mistake, they have been touching in some way since they walked in the door and looking at each other like they are the only other person in the room. She hopes Ashlyn never stops looking at her like that. 

They are working out with Chris tomorrow so only one glass of wine each. As the waiter brings their drinks back to the table, Ashlyn decides to make a toast. "Last time, it was to new adventures. This time it's to us". Her smile grows exponentially, echoing the blonde, "to us". 

As they sit there and discuss what they are going to order, there are moments where she just looks over at the blonde and let's her eyes take in the beauty in front of her. She looked amazing in this suit. She wasn't exactly sure what Ashlyn would wear but this blew every expectation out of the water. And man, her ass in these tailored pants. Her mind has also wandered of how her hands will feel gliding over it later. 

"So are you looking forward to getting out on the pitch again?", she asks after they order their food. "Yeah", Ashlyn starts, "I mean, yes and no, I guess. My body has enjoyed a few weeks off from being thrown all over the ground. We are playing so much this year, between the Spirit and the National Team, it's been nice to have this downtime before it all starts."

She nods along, understanding completely. It surprises her that hearing about Ashlyn's concerns don't bother her. A month ago, she wouldn't be able to have this conversation without either crying her eyes out, screaming at her to not complain at all, or just walking away from it. Maybe Ashlyn has a been a good thing in more ways than one.

"Have you seen the schedule for this year?" Ashlyn asks her. She nods, before telling her, "yeah, you are gone a lot", pouting for a second. "But", she continues, "At least I should be around for some of the matches after the Algarve. Honestly, even though I'll be in Canada, I don't know how much we will see either except for interviews and stuff."

"Not sure how am I going to survive with you being so close and not being able to touch you.", the blonde tells you with a bit of a flirty tone. She smirks back before responding , "I'm sure you will be able to handle it without my help." both inferring to the same thing. 

"I do have a question for you…", Ashlyn asks before taking a sip of wine. She raises her eyebrows as she is waiting to hear what's about to come out of Ashlyn's mouth. 

"So", her nerves take over again, "I, um, I have a wedding to go to back in Florida. It's um, like mid-March between Algarve and our St. Louis game". She starts rubbing the back of her neck, always her tell for when she is nervous. "It's ok if you don't, I mean, I don’t blame you if you say no given the little bit you know of my past in Florida."

"Hey", Ali interrupts her, putting her hand on Ashlyn's forearm. "I would love to go with you", she says with an easy smile coming to her face. "Ashlyn, your past doesn’t scare me, you know. We have a lot to work through between the two of us, but we are going to work through everything together, ok?", she tells her with a questioning tone. 

Ashlyn nods, putting her hand that was around the back of her neck, on top of her hand on her forearm. Ashlyn lifts her head to make sure she is looking directly in the her eyes when she whispers out "I don't deserve you". Ali pulls out her hand from under the blondes touch and cups her cheek, "you deserve everything, please don't say that. If you don't believe that yourself, I will spend every day making you believe it". Ashlyn leans forward and places a quick kiss on her lips, internally thankful for the moment this amazing woman walked into her life.

The moment is interrupted by the waiter bringing their food to the table. They both had ordered filets, and a few different sides. As they begin to eat, both let out a soft moan after their first bite of steak. "This is SO good", Ali says, laying her utensils down on her plate. 

"We are so coming back here again, this is delicious.", Ashlyn says, agreeing with her. The blonde continues, "the true test will be this mac n cheese", as she digs in for a big bite. Ali watches her while she is finishing, waiting for the answer. "It's pretty good, but not as good as my grandmas". She gives a crinkled smile to her, happy to hear something positive about her family. A smile coming to Ashlyn's face while telling her, "I hope you get to try it when we head down there for the wedding". Ali nods, her smile still on her face, "me too, baby".

As they are finishing up the meal, the waiter comes back and offers up dessert. Ashlyn defers to her, letting her be the decision-maker. "Well, I do love dessert, do you want to split something? I honestly could go either way.", Ali tells her. "Oh, we are going all out tonight, want to get the chocolate tart?", Ashlyn asks while pointing to the menu. She nods in agreement, "yeah, that sounds good to me."

When the dessert comes, both of their eyes go wide, with Ashlyn mumbling, "I may explode soon". Ali takes a spoon and dives into the tart and ice cream, instead of putting it to her mouth though, she smiles and leans forward with the spoon toward Ashlyn's mouth. 

The corner of the blondes lips start to turn upward before she opens her mouth to take the spoonful, watching Ali's eyes the entire time. She has never been fed dessert before, but pretty sure it was the one of the most sensual things ever. Once she has swallowed everything, she wipes the corners of your mouth, before telling Ali, "so that is amazing", pointing down to the plate.

With that, she takes her spoon and gets a bite ready to return the favor. As the spoon is almost there, Ashlyn whispers to her, "say please". Ali's eyes close momentarily, completely turned on with this whole scene. She slowly opens her eyes, burning a hole into Ashlyn, before saying "please, Ashlyn" right as she opens her mouth, taking the bite. She slowly pulls the sweet treat off the spoon while maintaining eye contact. Ashlyn turns in her chair and in jest, says "check please" as Ali starts laughing, slapping her arm. 

They finish eating dessert and having a cup of coffee before the check is dropped off at the table. Ashlyn barely lets it hit the table before she has pulled her wallet out and put her card into the folder. Ali reaches out with her left hand and grabs Ashlyn's right one that is sitting in front of her on the table. "Thank you for an amazing first date. I have to admit, it's the best first date I have ever been on". Ashlyn squeezes Ali's hand after the brunette's confession before responding, "so best first date, I'll take it. What do I have to do to get best date ever"?

Ali takes a deep breath and narrows her eyes before answering her question. "Hmmm, we will see. There is a first time for everything".

The waiter returns to the table so Ashlyn pulls out of Ali's grip to sign the bill. After she is done, she turns to Ali, lifts her eyebrows as a signal to see if she is ready to go. Ashlyn goes to stand and pull out Ali's chair. They walk out of the restaurant, Ashlyn's hand on her back the entire way. 

When they get outside, Ashlyn wraps her arm around Ali's waist, bringing her close, whispering to her, "there is one more place I want to go before we head back. Are you ok to walk for a little bit?", Ali nodding yes to the question. Ashlyn has the valet bring the car around before they only drive over a few blocks, closer to the Mall. 

As Ashlyn is helping Ali out of the car, she grabs a couple of blankets out of the trunk and grabs her hand as she leads her towards the Lincoln Memorial steps. She helps her climb up about half the steps, letting go of her hand while she lays out one of the blankets on the cold marble steps. She helps Ali sit down before situating herself next to her, pulling the other blanket over to the top of their legs. 

Ali just looks out at the Washington Monument that is straight in front of her, just past the reflecting pool. It's a beautiful clear, cold night and she is sitting with an amazing woman's arm around her waist. She turns her head to Ashlyn saying, "it's always so beautiful here at night".

Ashlyn squeezes her waist tight and nods, still looking straight ahead. She finally hears her start to speak, "Whenever I have tough days, this is where I come. At home, when I wanted to escape the shitty things in my life or I'm just having a down day, I go to the beach. It's where I'm free from judgement and can just center myself. After I moved here, I was having a tough time before I reconnected with friends. I just felt homesick and it didn't feel like home. One night I just started walking and I ended up here, and for some reason, it just clicked. It's weird, a place that is overrun during the day with people is so peaceful at night. I was able to just take in the beauty and watch people moving about, just taking in life." 

Ali places her hand on Ashlyn's inner thigh, gently rubbing it, knowing that the blonde is baring herself. Ashlyn looks over to her and gives her a soft smile before continuing, "I've never told anyone about how I come here or brought anyone here like this, it's always been my spot. But since I met you, you have made DC feel more like home than it ever has before. I wanted to share this with you. There will still be nights where I need to come here but I'm hoping that when I struggle, I can turn to you as well." 

She watches Ashlyn take a deep breath, while she is trying to hold back her own tears from this heartfelt confession that is happening. Ashlyn finally exhales, moving her arm from around Ali's waist to interlock with her hand that was on her thigh. "Ali, I really want to be able to call you my girlfriend. I feel like we are already there, but I want to make it official, because I want you by my side, in my corner, always". Ali starts to open her mouth as tears are starting to go down her cheek, but Ashlyn stops her, "I need to get this all out before I start balling", she chuckles. Ali laughs at her and squeezes her hand, the biggest smile on her face. Ashlyn starts again, this time smiling wide, with her dimple showing. "I just want you to know that I'm going to give you everything I am and there are parts that aren't pretty or easy, but I feel it deep in my heart that you will be there for me and call me out on my bullshit when it needs to be done. I have never been the type to fall hard and so fast but I don't want to stop, I just want to stay on this runaway train with you and see where it takes us. You are all I want. You are all I think about from the moment I wake, till I go sleep at night. Even then, you are usually in my dreams. Please say you'll be mine".

Ali looks over and raises her eyebrows, asking permission to speak. Ashlyn just laughs and nods. 

Instead of saying anything, she just takes her hands and places them on both sides of Ashlyn's face. She pulls her into one of the passionate kisses they have ever shared. It wasn't about sex or where it might lead, it was physically showing her that she was saying yes to everything. Yes to being her girlfriend, yes to be her confidant, and yes to continuing this journey together. 

As they slowly pull apart, she can see the tears glistening in Ashlyn's eyes and the few that have rolled down her cheek. She uses her thumbs to brush away her tears. Their eyes haven't left each other's. 

"Baby. Your honesty is one of the many things I adore about you. That and your ability to show your true and raw emotions. I can't promise you that I'm easy every day and all my failures aren't nipping at my heels to take me down. But if I have you at my side, I know I'll succeed. I've wanted to call you my girlfriend since I saw you coming down the escalator at the airport. The connection I have felt with you was almost immediate.", she leans in, lowers her voice a bit, "and our sexual chemistry, my god, it's the best sex I've ever had. I love when you take your time and lavish my body with your attention. But I also love when you let your body just take over and take what's undeniably yours. So the answer is yes. Yes, I'll be your girlfriend. Yes, I'll do my best to take away the pain when it consumes you and you best believe I'll be your biggest cheerleader. Even if I can't outwardly show it all the time, know that I'm screaming inside for you to succeed. 

You both have tears streaming down your face, but they are happy tears, accompanied with the largest of smiles. Ashlyn shifts her body and wraps the brunette tightly in her arms. Ali hears in her ear, "you make me so unbelievably happy". 

Ali moves her arms so she can wrap them around the blondes torso. She slowly moves them up and down her back, breathing in her unique scent. "Thank you for the best date ever." They separate before Ali continues, "let's get out of here". Ashlyn laughs for a second before standing, holding out her arms to help Ali up. When their faces are inches apart, Ashlyn mumbles, "I thought you'd never say that", before leaning into to kiss her girl. 

As Ashlyn is folding up the blankets, Ali speaks up. "Promise you will bring me back here when it's warmer? I could sit out here for hours with you". Ashlyn goes to grab her hand and start walking back to the car, "promise".

\------ Ash

The air between you and Ali has shifted. While walking back to the car, hands intertwined, you feel like you truly have the world at your feet. This was going to be your year on the pitch, be the #1 and favored to win the World Cup, basically on US soil. With Ali by your side, you feel unstoppable. 

When you get back to the car and put the blankets in the trunk, Ali turns to you, grabbing your waist, before telling you, "It really means a lot, you opening up to me and sharing things like this with me. I just want you to know that". A smile comes to your face as you mirror her, wrapping your arms around her waist as well. "You make me want too. Not sure why", you chuckle as you tell her. She leans over to give you a little peck on your lips.

Once you are both settled in the car and about to head home, Ali finds your right hand, interlocking her hand with yours. She brings the back of your hand to her mouth to give you a kiss before turning and asking you the second best question of the night. "Please tell me your are coming home with me tonight?", a smile on her face as she squeezes her hand. 

Happy you hadn't put the car in drive yet, you lean over, cupping her check with your left hand, pulling her in for a deep kiss. As you pull away, her eyes still shut, you whisper, "I was hoping you would ask. I want to make love to you all night and wake up with you in my arms."

Ali lets out a soft moan as her eyes meet yours before whispering back, "what are you waiting for then, let's go home". A smirk coming to your face before answering, "yes, princess".

After they park the car and you help her out, you walk back around to the trunk, telling her, "I may have been hedging my bets, but I made sure to pack an overnight bag ahead of time. See I learn", giving Ali a huge smile. As you turn to start walking to her place, she grabs your hand to hold it again, turning to suggest, "well, maybe you should just leave some stuff here". You chuckle before raising your eyebrows to her comment, "if I remember correctly, you still have some of my things from when you wore them home."

She starts digging in her purse for her keys, looking over to you, "yeah, you aren't getting those back, they are comfy", she says, shrugging her shoulders. The door opens and she walks in, as you are responding, "oh, so does this mean you have worn them more than once"? Again with a shrug as she responds, "maybe".

As she is leaning down and taking off her heels, you walk up behind her, grabbing her hips and pulling her toward you, "I can leave you the stuff I brought tonight if you want the good ones that actually still smell like me." She wraps her arms around yours as she is again shorter than you. You start kissing her neck and you can hear her breath hitch as she was starting to tell you, "please". 

At this point, you aren't sure if she was responding about the clothes or you starting to seduce her. You continue slowly kissing up her neck until you get to her ear. Her arms slowly moved from covering yours and moved back to find your ass, which she proceeded to tightly squeeze. Her actions made you bite down lightly on her ear lobe before whispering, "let's go upstairs. I want to make love to my girlfriend".

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys liked that. Let me know your thoughts.
> 
> I went back and forth between breaking it up into two chapters, but I really liked how it flowed together.


	20. Just Picture This

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sooooo.... 
> 
> This picks up right after the last chapter into the next morning. You can pretty much figure out what that means. Let's go with 99% smut/1% story. If smut isn't your thing, you can skip this chapter and not miss anything of the story. 
> 
> Seriously, back to the story next chapter, time for Ash to leave :(

\----- Ali

She is cursing herself for not closing the curtains more last night before she went to dinner. Yes, the moonlight shining in last night was the perfect mood lighting and the way it illuminated Ashlyn's body when she was covered in a sheen of sweat, took her breath away, but she has only been a sleep for a few hours and definitely needs more before going to workout.

This morning was different than the others when they have woken up together. Usually Ashlyn is holding her in some fashion. Whether it be when Ashlyn's body is under hers with her arms and legs or when she is curled up behind her with her arms wrapped tightly around Ali's body. Today it's her that is the curled around the blonde who is tucked into a ball. For the life of her, she can't even remember how they fell asleep last night.

She starts thinking back to last night after they got home and if she thought it was the best sex she had ever had before, this blew it all out of the water. Whether it was their feelings they shared, making it official or the fact that she had so many orgasms she lost count, she wonders how she could ever doubt Ashlyn's moves, cause damn, the girl has some.

_(flashback)_

_Once they had gotten to her bedroom last night, Ashlyn quickly took control of the situation. She wasn't rushed or in a hurry, but she made sure to pull the brunette into her tight the second they went through the threshold. Ashlyn, standing behind her with both hands now intertwined over her stomach, she whispers in her ear, "I really, really want to take my time with you tonight. I want my body to convey to you every emotion I am feeling inside"._

_Ali moans from her words, squeezing her hands tight. She lets go of her hands and turns around in her arms, hands moving to the blonde's neck. She pulls her neck down so she is close to her ear, telling her "I'm not sure how long I will last because of all you have already shared with me tonight. You don't understand how much of a turn on it is to listen to you share your inner most thoughts and feelings with me"._

_With that, Ashlyn pulls her head back so their eyes can connect before pulling her into a deep kiss. Both of them moaning as their tongues slowly explore their mouths, hands starting to lightly touch each others bodies._

_Ali pulls back so there is a little space between them, her eyes trained straight ahead at the beautiful woman in front of her. Her hands move down to the buttons on the vest, telling her, "you have way more clothes on than me so let me get started". A smile coming to Ashlyn's face as she maintains the eye contact Ali is so desperate wanting to keep._

_Once the brunette has undone the four buttons of the vest, she pushes it over Ashlyn's shoulder. A smile comes to Ali's face as she asks her "can I continue?", answered with a smirk and nod of her head._

_Ali starts to undo Ashlyn's tie, slowly pulling it out from under her collar. A devious smirk comes to her face, adding, "we could have some fun with these ties at some point". That comment on one hand surprises Ashlyn, but on the other, she has started to see that there is definitely another side to Ali, thinking back to the club the other night._

_"Oh yeah, princess? I don't think I would be opposed to that at all", reaching out and pulling in Ali, bringing her a little closer. "But, I do think it's my turn to take over for a little bit", with that she spins Ali around so her hands are on her waist pulling her ass into the front of her. She slowly takes her left hand from her waist and uses it to pull the hair on Ali's right shoulder to the side so her lips can kiss her._

_As soon as they her lips touched her neck, Ali moaned "baby" and moved her head over to the left to give her more space to work. That's something Ashlyn doesn't ever think she'll get tired of, making Ali moan and feel good. While she continues kissing up her neck, she moves her fingers to the top of the zipper on the black dress in front of her._

_The zipper slowly goes down followed by the blonde's tongue tracing its path. The seam ends at the top of Ali's underwear so she gives her one last kiss before standing back up so she can kiss her neck again. She slowly pushes off the undone dress off her shoulders and it pools at her feet. Ali's pretty sure she isn't suspecting this when she turns around to face Ashlyn again._

_She knew they would end up in various states of undress so she did run one errand today which was at her favorite high-end lingerie store. Of course she could have gone for something in black but she decided to completely play it different tonight. There she stands in a red bra where there is only one large stripe of material over the center, the rest just open skin and straps. Her underwear, similar in that there is only a small piece of fabric down the middle and the rest just straps and bare skin._

_This is the second time tonight Ashlyn stands in front of her speechless. Ali steps out of her pooled dress at her feet, a foot back from the blonde before saying, "I wanted to surprise my girlfriend, did it work"?_

_Ashlyn is just staring at her body, she can't move or speak. Finally her eyes come up from Ali's barely clothes body, accenting her side tattoo even more to respond. Taking a deep breath and saying in a low, husky tone, "fuck, yes you surprised me. God, you are so fucking beautiful"._

_A smile comes to Ali's face knowing she made the right decision to step out of her comfort zone to shock Ashlyn. She puts both of her hands on the blondes tight, muscular chest, telling her "good. You wanted something else to think about while you are gone, just picture this"._

_A smirk comes to Ashlyn's face as she puts both hands on Ali's waist, pulling her close enough their lips are touching, before mumbling out, "well, that's just mean. If that's what I think about, all you are going to do is make me want to touch myself."_

_Ali mumbles back on her lips, "tsk tsk, what do I get to think about?" Without hesitation, Ashlyn tells her, "after the multiple orgasms you are about to have, I'm sure you'll be able to think of something"._

_With that, Ali closes the minuscule gap between their lips, moaning into it. The kiss doesn't last long, but long enough for her to feel strong hands going up and down her back, ending on her bare ass. She pulls her lips away from Ashlyn, saying "my turn again"._

_She pulls Ashlyn's shirt out of her suit pants and slowly begins unbuttoning it. When she gets to the last button and the shirt is just hanging open, she undoes the top button of her pants. Her eyes go back up to meet Ashlyn's, dark but still showing so much care and presence in the moment. Ali is reminded of how much beauty this woman has._

_"Ash. You are so sexy and I have been loving you in this suit.", as she finishes the sentence, she is pushing her shirt off her shoulders. "And these pants, god they make your ass look so good.", letting her hands slide down and lightly squeeze the object of her affection._

_She lets her eyes shamelessly rake over her body. Between her abs that trail into the top of her boxers and Ashlyn's hands that are slowly pulling down the zipper of her pants, she has to bite her top lip to get control of herself. With a little tug, the pants fall to the floor and they are back to being equals._

_She places her hand at the top of her chest and let's one finger drag down her torso until she gets to her boxers. "I'm loving these tonight." Referring to the tight black boxer briefs that are shorter than what she usually wears, stopping mid quad. While she may not be bulky in muscle like Ali is, she knows how strong she is and loves when she can see some of her leg muscles popping out._

_Ashlyn just smirks back, putting her hands back on Ali's body. This time, letting her right hand trace over her tattoo, and then back to her abs. For not having played in a while, Ali is solid muscle, including her tight stomach and near flawless legs._

_Once both of Ashlyn's hands are at her waist, she gently starts to guide her backwards toward the bed. A smile comes across Ali's face knowing at least some of the wait is over. She's smart enough to know though, Ashlyn is definitely going to take her time._

_When her knees hit the side of the bed, Ashlyn continues to walk until their bodies are pressed together, whispering "will you lay down?", nodding towards the pillows._

_Ali simple nods. Deciding to tease the woman in front of her a bit, instead of just sitting and scooting backwards, Ali manages to turn to face the bed, and climb on her hands and knees to the top, sashaying her hips in an exaggerated fashion. She knows how much the blonde loves her ass so she wants to make sure she gets an eyeful, especially since Ashlyn hadn't seen the back of this underwear._

_Unfortunately, Ashlyn has something different in mind. As soon as Ali was on all four , she couldn't contain herself. She quickly follows her on the bed and pulls Ali's ass into her. The action startled Ali for a second before she felt her body instantly fit into Ashlyn._

_"You are such a tease", Ashlyn tells her, hands on the waist in front of her. She can't see the smirk that's come to the girl's face in front of her, that is until Ali shifts her weight back so she is on her knees, back against the blondes front. She turns her head a little so she see Ashlyn out of the corner of her eye before demanding in a sexy tone, "do something about it then"._

_Ashlyn moans and she moves her hands that are still on her waist, slowly around to the front, ghosting over her bra. At the same time, she moves her lips back to Ali's neck and starts lightly sucking on her pulse point. It's then when she squeezes both hands firmly over her breasts, causing the brunettes body to arch of in pleasure. To help keep her in place, she lightly bites down where she had been sucking, to give her another sensation to deal with._

_"You like when I touch your breasts?", Ashlyn whispers in her ear. She can feel the nod from in front of her. She keeps her left hand caressing and rubbing her thumb over her nipple while she slowly trails her right palm down the front of her body, over her abs, to the top of her thong._

_"Do you like when I pinch your nipple as my other hand touches your clit?" At this point, Ali can't answer her as her body is dealing with a sensory overload. The blonde, as she was saying that, had gone in the top of her underwear and touched her where she needed it most._

_Ali's moans filling the room, her hands going behind her, hands running through blonde locks. She pushes herself back into the blonde as she feels her skilled fingers slowly rubbing her tightly wound, bundle of nerves. She hears in her ear, "God, you are so wet", as Ashlyn's fingers dropped to run through her folds._

_Her body starting to move in motion with the blonde who is slowly dragging her fingers through her folds, up to her clit, and back down again. She almost comes instantly when Ashlyn whispers in her ear, "does this remind you of when I fucked you in the club? When you were so turned on you couldn't wait for me to be buried inside of you?"_

_Ali's head falls forward from the words, the sensations, the overall lightheaded feeling that is consuming her body. "Yes", she manages to get out, "I love when you take me from behind. You know exactly how to touch my body."_

_Ashlyn loves the confidence that the brunette gives her in moments like these and as much as she just wants to bury her fingers in her and make her come quickly, she wants this time to last. Yeah, they already have had sex too many times to count, but this is special. At least to her and she thinks Ali as well. This is the first time truly together, in a relationship._

_She slowly pulls her fingers, hearing a groan in front of her. She chuckles for a second before whispering, "don't worry baby, it will be worth it". With that, Ashlyn takes her fingers that are now covered in her, and tells Ali to "open her mouth."_

_She slowly puts her fingers inside Ali's mouth while her other arm, grabs around her entire waist, pulling her tight. Ashlyn feels Ali's mouth tighten over her fingers while her tongue strokes the underside of them. They both let out a moan, turned on by this. Ashlyn, not being able to control herself, tells Ali to "turnaround"._

_As Ali shifts on her knees to face her, Ashlyn can see the dark need and want in her eyes. She pulls her into an open-mouthed kiss immediately, hands on each other's asses, squeezing. As she is pulling out of the kiss, the blonde let's her hands wander up and undo this red work of art that's stand in her way of what she wants._

_She looks down at the perfect pair of breasts in front of her, nipples out and begging to be touched and sucked. She raises her eyes to meet Ali's, the same time she raises her hands to cover her breasts. She watches her eyes close in pleasure as she gently squeezes and caresses them, thumb running over her nipples._

_"Why do you get to have all the fun?", the brunette breathes out, moving her hands up Ashlyn's body to pull her sports bra over her head. The blonde smirks at her, raising an eyebrow, inviting her to explore. This time it's Ali that leans forward to capture Ashlyn's lips in a kiss, but before it deepens, she teases her by lightly biting her bottom lip, pulling it towards her. It's not long before Ashlyn can't take the teasing and pulls their bodies together, exploring another deep kiss, this time their bodies completely flush._

_Ali pulls away and dips her head to capture Ashlyn's nipple in her mouth, using her hand to aggressively squeeze the other. Ashlyn throws her head back, body in overdrive before she regains some control._

_"Hey", Ashlyn whispers, causing Ali to separate from her chest and look up. "Lay down", Ashlyn continues as she moves on top of Ali as she settles on her back, legs spread open._

_"As amazing as this underwear is, it's got to go", pulling it off with both hands as Ali lifts her hips to help. She hears Ashlyn, who is now hovering above her, "I wanted to take this slow, but I don't know if I can." Ali bites her lip before responding, "I'm ready when you are", finishing with a smile._

_Ashlyn lays her entire body down on her, brushing Ali's hair out of her face. She softly kisses her lips, as her hand trails down Ali's body and starts rubbing her fingers over her clit again. She watches Ali close her eyes, enamored by the sensations rolling through her body like aftershocks. She opens her legs wider for the blonde, not wanting to impede her at all. Ashlyn taking the hint and continues her slow assault by her fingers while she moves so both legs are between Ali's, helping keep them open. She drags her fingers lower, covering them in Ali's wetness before inserting them both slowly into her._

_She feels nails digging into her back as she is in and out of her, knuckle deep, in a total agonizing pace. What just about drives her over the edge is that Ashlyn is moving her hips in time with her fingers, so it feels and looks like she is actually fucking her. She starts the fast ascent to an orgasm, both of them moaning from the sensations, Ashlyn's hip rubbing on her clit, her fingers rubbing her gspot on every thrust._

_Hiking both her legs up so they are bent, begging Ashlyn to be deeper, she starts heavily breathing, starting to tighten on her fingers. Ashlyn leans down to her ear, begging her, "let go, it's going to be a long night and this is just the beginning."_

_That was all it took for her to let go with a guttural moan filling the air, followed by, "fuck", as Ashlyn slowly pulled out of her. Ali has lost basically all function of her arms and legs and is just laying there, trying to get her breath back. She hears above her, "so I'm guessing that was okay?". It takes everything in her, but Ali lifts her arm up to slap Ashlyn's shoulder._

_After a few minutes of Ashlyn slowly kissing all over Ali's neck, she feels the spent girl under her start to move around, wrapping her legs around her waist and flipping them over so the brunette is now straddling her._

_"Alright stud, now it's my turn."_

_(end of flashback)_

She is pulled out of her daydream when the blonde in front of her starts to shift in her arms, rolling over on her back. She moves her head to lay it on Ashlyn's shoulder, throwing her arm over her waist to trace the tattoos on her arm. To say she loves her tattoos is a great understatement and they turn her on when she can see them all, not hindered by clothing. The sheet is pooled around Ashlyn's waist so she is making sure to get her fill.

A large hand from the tattooed arm she is tracing moves to grab her forearm. A smile comes to Ali's face as it happens, but more so when she feels the hand pulling her arm further away from her. She takes this as an invitation to climb on top of the blonde, which is verified when she sees the dimpled smile shining back at her.

Slowly, she watches Ashlyn's eyes open, making her smile grow deeper into her face. Ashlyn's hands had moved to her hips, grounding her on top. With sleep still in her eyes and voice, Ashlyn, quietly tells her "come here", inviting her to lay down on top of her, starting the day with a kiss.

Both aware of their morning breath, neither really make the effort to deepen it. After she moves her lips off the woman's below her, she nestles her head down into her neck, feeling Ashlyn's hands rubbing all over her back. In her ear she hears Ashlyn say, "good morning sexy. You are so beautiful, I don't think I'll ever get tired of waking up next to you."

She mumbles into the blonde's shoulder, "mmm, sorry to wake you, I just couldn't keep my hands off of my girlfriend AND I forgot to shut the damn shades last night." chuckling to herself regarding the last bit. She hears Ashlyn tell her in ear, "you can wake your girlfriend up anytime you want in that way. We probably need to get up anyways. Why did we say we would work out this morning?"

Ali lifts up to look in her eyes with both eyebrows raised, "that was all you, babe." Ashlyn just groans and throws her head to the side. After a second or two passes, Ashlyn shifts Ali a little lower on her waist so she can sit-up, wrapping her arms loosely around her waist. "Fine, let's get some coffee but I have one more question for you.", a devilish smile coming to her face. Ali, nervously says, "yessss?", knowing with that smile, this isn't going to be a simple question.

Ashlyn shrugs her shoulders before leaning closer before speaking again. "I just wanted to know how you got this wet so early in the morning?", smirk fully coming across her face now. Ali drops her head to her shoulder, kissing up to her ear before whispering, "I was thinking about all of the things you did to me last night." As if on queue, Ashlyn's hands drop lower to her ass, pulling her tighter towards her mid-section. She moves her mouth by the brunette's ear, like they are telling secrets, "maybe you should show me how great that shower of yours is and I can do something about it".

Ali bites lightly down on her shoulder, even more turned on now. Not wasting anytime, Ali swings her leg off of Ashlyn and crawls off the bed to the bathroom, without saying a word.

\------ Ash

You watch her amazing body walk around the bed and go in the bathroom. You flop back down on the bed and just look up at the ceiling, exhaling. Is this seriously your life right now? This girl fucking blows your mind. You were being honest last night in the throws of passion, when you told her it was the best sex you have ever had. You didn't expand on it, but you know it's cause you are completely falling for her. If it was up to you, you would never leave her side. You are cursing this upcoming trip, especially the fact that it's overseas and it's for two weeks, it's not going to be easy.

You move your head over to the right and can see her standing in the bathroom, naked. You aren't going to let this pass you by so you get your ass out of bed, even though you are pretty sure you went to sleep about three hours ago.

As you walk in, she is leaning against the counter, finishing brushing her teeth. It's at that moment when you realize you didn't bring a toothbrush with you. She must see your mind turning so she turns back around holding a toothbrush package in her hand, "do you need one of these?" You nod, "yeah, I forgot mine, so obviously didn't do that good of job packing.", you laugh as you tell her. She smiles wide before casually saying, "well, I might have picked one of these up, just in case. I don't know, maybe you could just keep it here?", ending the sentence biting her bottom lip.

You immediately close the gap, taking the toothbrush out of her hand and throwing it on the counter. You reach for her thighs and put her on the counter, standing between her legs. You move your hands around to her ass as she wraps her legs around you, pulling your body closer to hers, both of your bodies now flush. You move your mouth to her ear, tracing it with your tongue, before saying, "I don't know if I can wait till the shower to be inside of you." She moans at your words as you tug her ear lobe with your teeth. Before you can move your head away, she tells you "then you better fuck me right here".

Now it's your turn to moan and breath out, telling her, "do I have to use that toothbrush before I can kiss you?" She takes her hands, grabs your face and pulls you into a deep, tongue exploring kiss. While you are thoroughly enjoying the kiss, you start taking your right hand from around her body and snake it between your bodies, finding her clit. She drops her legs from around her back to give you more space. You hear and feel her moaning into your mouth while you slowly rub the most sensitive part of her body.

You pull back from the kiss, moving to her neck and can feel her nails on your back, trailing down your body. You can't hold back any longer and start running your fingers through her folds. You are doing your best not to leave marks on her neck or anywhere visible but you are dying right now to just let loose and mark her body to remember you by.

Ali leans back on her hands, pressing her breasts out. You take the invite and swallow her left breast at the same time you slide two fingers inside of her. Her right hand comes to the back of your head, pressing you further onto her as you slowly start to slide in and out of her, moving your hips back and forth in time. You hear her pant out above you, "god, you feel so good inside of me." You leave her left breast, looking her in the eyes while you put your fingers all the way inside of her, asking "do you want me to continue with my fingers or do you want me to use my tongue." While waiting for her answer, you slowly pull all the way out of her and then back in, your thumb tapping her clit each time.

Her head thrown back in pleasure while moaning, she tries to answer her but can't. You ask again once your fingers still inside her again, "Alex", trying to get her attention, "how do you want me to make you cum?" This time, she reaches for you and pulls you back into another deep kiss. You slowly pick up the pace as her legs wrap around your back again. When she pulls back from the kiss, she mumbles, "I want your mouth on me. I want to cum on your tongue." You moan as your head drops to her shoulders as you take your fingers and move them around in a circle before slowly pulling them out.

"As you wish", you tell her, giving her a smile and soft kiss. You start kissing your way down her body, making sure to give attention to her right breast that you had neglected so far. You don't want to waste any time so you get on your knees and scoot her body to the edge of the counter. Before you put your mouth on her, you look up at her, showing the most emotion you can gather right now, "I'm so happy you’re my girlfriend and I get to do this to you." She leans forward and cups your face, "me too baby".

After the little moment, you lean forward capturing her wetness all over tongue, lightly dragging it through her folds. You already know she is close so you don't want to prolong it any longer. You throw both of her legs over your shoulders, driving your tongue further into her. Her moaning is getting louder and louder and you can feel her tightening in front of you. You feel her hand come to the back of your head and grab your hair. She moves your head up so you can capture her clit, which you gently trace with your tongue. The room goes silent except for her panting, and then you hear "oh fuck, Ash, I'm about to cum!" You shift up from your knees so you have some leverage, pushing her back on the counter, hands spreading her even further apart. It's like the aggressive nature pushed her over as you feel her release on your chin, quickly moving your mouth there to clean her up.

You feel her hand loosely in your hair still and you feel her legs just flop open, motionless from the exertion. You quickly move up her body to hold her, bringing her back over to the edge of the counter. "You okay?", you mumble into her shoulder as her arms hold you around your mid-back, heels dug into your waist. She just nods before you faintly make out, "how are you so good at that?", she waits a second before adding, "maybe I don't want to know", a soft chuckle filling the air. You turn to kiss her cheek and then cup her face with your right hand, telling her, "trust me, that's all you. You make me so hungry for your body, I can't control myself."

She pulls you back into a hug so you can hold on to each other, enjoying the feeling of your sweaty bodies together. You hear in your ear, "I don't want you to leave", as she squeezes you tighter. You sigh, pull away from her again so you can look in her eyes, holding both of her hands, you can see her eyes full of pure admiration and true emotion. "baby, trust me if I could, I would stay", trying to convey you are feeling the same thing. You squeeze her hands before suggesting, "let's get in the shower and get you cleaned up. I'm not sure if I did a good enough job", letting out a little chuckle. Ali leans forward giving her a quick peck, "trust me, you did a good job."

You help her off the counter as she goes behind you to start the water. You take the opportunity to finally use the toothbrush she gave you, still amazed at her thoughtful gesture. As she is getting ready to step in the shower, you wrap your arms around her from behind, head resting on her shoulder, "thanks again for that toothbrush. You are a lifesaver". She leans her head back against your collarbone before jokingly saying, "I was saving myself from your morning breath." laughing even harder once she gets that all out. You release her and sigh, saying, "I see how it is", and lightly smack her bare ass.

As you follow her into the shower, you are hit on both sides by the water and from the rain shower head on top. "Oh my god, this is amazing. I'm only showering here from now on", exclaiming, with your hands held out to the sides, eyes closed facing up into the stream of water coming from the ceiling. You hear from your right side, "mmm, promise?"

You step out of the main stream of water as she moves under and gets her hair wet, thinking to yourself, 'how can this woman get any more hot.' As she opens her eyes, you would know that look anywhere, you are screwed.

"I think it's time I thanked you properly for last night and this morning," as her hand hits your chest, pushing you back towards the wall. You arch your back as it comes into contact with the cold wall but are immediately pressed further back into it when she presses her wet body against yours. You both moan from the sensations and when she takes your hands and pins them above your head against the wall. She moves so she has one leg between yours, feeling her hip press into your clit. You push your head back against the wall, quietly mumbling, "fuck.", but not before she barely touches your lips with hers.

Before she deepens it, she pulls back far enough so that they are barely touching when she tells you, "you are so fucking beautiful. Every time I look at you, I want to be all over you. I am so fucked." You moan, this time though, it's loud enough to echo within the tiled shower walls. She moves over to your left ear, tugging it towards her with her teeth, breathing out, "is that all you got?"

Jesus, what has gotten into her?! Yes, she has been somewhat dominant in bed and definitely isn't shy telling you or guiding you into what she wants, but fuck, this is such a turn on. You are pulled out of your thoughts when you feel her right hand roughly taking your left breast into her palm. You drop your head down to her shoulder as she starts rolling your nipple through her fingers, lightly squeezing and pulling.

"Do you want my mouth to be doing what my hand is doing?", you hear in your ear. You are pretty sure your entire body just shook. You can't find the words but just nod. She got the answer she wanted as you feel her pull off of you, in effect, having to lift your head back up. Your eyes meet briefly and all you see are black pupils filled with lust and desire. You take the one free hand you have and wrap it behind her neck, pulling her into a searing hot kiss. Your tongue is immediately in her mouth, fighting for dominance. This time it's Ali that moans as she drops your other hand, as her hand drops to your waist to pull you inexplicitly closer together.

You both pull apart and she drops her head slightly to capture your left nipple in her mouth. She is tracing her tongue all around it and lightly flicking it with the tip. You feel her right hand slowly trailing down your abs until she meets your clit. At the exact moment that happens, she uses her teeth to pull on the same nipple she was just gently caressing. You aren't sure what to do with your hands right now. You want them on her, you want them on your own body, she is driving you crazy.

Her fingers are slowly rubbing your clit up and down in a tantalizing fashion, occasionally dipping lower through your thick wetness between your folds. You know you aren't going to last long between your session by the counter and now this, you are about to short circuit like Johnny number five.

You feel her come off your nipple, back to your ear, repeating a very familiar phrase, "do you want my mouth to be doing what my hand is doing?" You don't even care anymore, trying to play it cool, as you basically scream out, "YES!" You know you have maybe a minute until you completely unravel so the fact that you have a wall to lean on is like a (really) early birthday present.

She can tell by your tone and how you have completely covered her fingers in your wetness, she doesn't have much time. She drops to her knees, pulling your right leg over her left shoulder and starts eating you out like her life depended on it. You are pretty sure you overestimated that minute because as soon as your hand went to the back of her head and she looked up at you, you completely let go. Over the water running in the shower, she got to hear you voicing your pleasure, "oh god, oh Alex, I'm coming, fuck". She runs her hands over your thighs as she shifts her body to let you have both feet on the ground. She playfully teases you a bit more after cleaning you up, but you pull her up to hold her (and you don't think you can hold yourself up).

When she is fully standing and you are getting your breathing under control, you shake your head at her. You see this smirk come across her face as she wipes her mouth with the back of her hand before she tells you, "you taste so good. I love going down on you." You moan and pull her into another deep kiss, this time your hands around her waist, pulling her in tight. As you pull back, your foreheads rest on each other, your eyes trying to focus, "I stand by initial impression of you, you are going to kill me." You hear a deep, rumbling laugh coming from the brunette, a mix between nervous energy and total confidence, "perfect", she says as she turns from you and starts washing her hair.

You stand there against the wall, just watching her. She turns around facing you from across the shower, a massive smile on her face. Man, you are falling so hard.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I started this with no intention on writing smut and it just happened, and then more happened (and then a tad more). Apparently, this is much easier to write than the filler chapters. lol.


	21. You Are So Strong

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things get a bit emotional with Ashlyn leaving.

\----- Ash

On your way home from training, you remember how important it is to actually have energy and sleep. You, unfortunately, lacked both and already feel sore and tired after your session. You look over to the passenger seat and can tell Ali feels the same way. She is sitting there with her eyes closed, hand on your leg. From what you can tell, she might already be asleep after only being in the car for five minutes. You smirk to yourself thinking of how her body must be exhausted. While last night and this morning was definitely give and take, you definitely one upped her in the giving area, with no complaints what so ever.

When you are almost home, you sit at a stop light just looking at her. She looks so peaceful, you hate to wake her. You do though decide to take a picture of her so you can remember this moment while you are gone. You realize you don't have that many pictures of you together, but happy you got one last night before you left the Lincoln Memorial. It's a memory you have already engrained in your brain, but you wanted a physical memory as well.

At the next light, you lean over and gently rub her leg, trying to not startle her as you try to wake her. You see her eyes starting to flicker open and sit up a little in the seat, getting her bearings. "Sorry baby, I didn't really want to wake you, but I wasn't sure if you wanted to nap at my place or go back to yours.", you say, still rubbing her leg. She takes both hands and rubs her face, trying to wake herself up before speaking, "I should go to my place. I have a remote I need to do later this afternoon that I need to finish notes on plus you need to pack. Maybe call me later and I can come over?" You nod, before adding, "sounds good. I would love if you come over later. I want to hold you tonight before I leave. We could order in and just watch a movie or something?" A smile comes to her face and she lays her hand over yours, "that would be perfect."

A few minutes later, you pull up in front of her place, double parking while you jump out to help her out of the car. Once she is out, gives you a big hug, mumbling into your shoulder, "thanks for an amazing night last night. I don't think I'll ever forget it." You smile into her shoulder,  before telling her, "you made me the happiest girl ever last night." You both pull out of the hug, but stay close to read the truthfulness of your words through each others eyes.

"I'll see you later. Get packing!", Ali says as she leans forward to give you a quick peck on the lips. "Will do, baby", you answer as you smack her ass as she walks away. You can just see her shaking her head as you let out a little chuckle as you walk back over to get in the car.

For probably the first time in your life, you have motivation to start packing immediately. On the other hand, you know if you don't take somewhat of a nap, you will be ready for bed at five o'clock. You settle down on the couch, a smile on your face as you easily fall into a slumber within minutes.

\---- Ali

Once she gets in her door, she goes to her bedroom to crawl back under the covers. She is physically exhausted. She makes sure to set an alarm for an hour from now. As much as she wants to sleep the day away, she does have to do a remote segment on an upcoming men's game that she will be covering. She cuddles into the pillow Ashlyn slept on last night, smelling the blonde all over it, falling asleep almost instantly.

The alarm goes off way too soon but she wills herself up to eat some lunch and shower, for the second time today. The shower doesn't seem nearly as great after this morning. She's amazed how much she has enjoyed the domesticity of their relationship. It feels natural, so natural and she doesn't want that to change.

She decides to text Kyle and to make plans to get together, as well as very brief update from dinner. She sees he had text last night and this morning, obviously curious as well.

_Kyle: sooo. How was it? Where did you go?_

_Kyle: hello?!?! I need an update asap._

_Kyle: are you alive? Did she get you all dressed up to kidnap you?_

_Kyle: Jesus bb. If you are still in bed with her….._

_Ali: good morning to you too. X_

_Ali: last night was AMAZING. You are gonna die._

_Kyle: Spill NOW!_

_Ali: lunch tmrw?_

_Kyle: yes! But I need something now! Alex!_

_Ali: lol. Well, it's ofish, she's my girlfriend :-)_

The biggest smile on her face as she types that.

_Kyle: Finally! When's the wedding?_

Her heart skips a beat when she reads that. One day she hopes she can answer that.

_Ali: one step at a time bb._

They make plans to meet up tomorrow afternoon for lunch. She's hopefully that she can take Ashlyn to the airport tomorrow morning. She knows she has an early flight but wants to spend as much time together as she can before she has to go cold turkey.

She gets back to the task at hand, looking over the latest call up info for the men's team in preparation to give some commentary during ESPN FC in a couple of hours.

As she is headed up to her office, she hears her phone vibrate on the kitchen counter. She comes back down the stairs, hopeful it's the person she wants to hear from. It's her lucky day, a smile coming to her face.

_Ashlyn: want to come over around 630? I should be done by then, or at least close :-)_

_Ali: love too. Want me to bring something over, craving anything for your last meal in town for a bit?_

_Ashlyn: besides you?  ;-)_

Ali: ….

_Ashlyn: want to grab something from the Italian place around the corner? I'm fine with anything from there._

_Ali: k. Sounds good. I'll see you in a bit._

_Ashlyn: I'm pretty sure I'll see you sooner …_

_Ashlyn: (sends a photo of her tv on the start of ESPN FC)_

_Ashlyn: good luck babe. You'll crush it. X_

_Ali: :-) XX_

\------- Ash

When you hear her name come over the tv, you drop what you are doing, running to the tv to stare at your girl. She looks amazing, you breath out to yourself. You wonder how she can look so beautiful, so effortlessly. She doesn't look at all like she is lacking sleep and you are so impressed how she seems so knowledgeable about everything.

You are one lucky girl.

You notice the time, it's almost 615 and of course you aren't done packing. Close, but not done. You head back into the kitchen, getting out some plates and also putting some candles out on your table. You want to try and make this as romantic as possible since it's the last few hours you have together. You are hoping she will spend the night tonight and take you to the airport in the morning. You have a god awful early flight but you want to be around her till the last possible moment.

There is a knock on your door so you rush over to open it. "Sorry, we don't allow your kind in here", you say with a straight face when you see she has a Penn State Soccer sweatshirt on, moving to close the door. As you pull it open again, this time with a dimpled grin, she stands there with an eyebrow raised before telling you with some sass, "oh, don't tempt me, I can easily eat this all myself", as she lifts the bag of food in her hand. You chuckle before moving to the side to usher her in, greeted with a peck on your lips. Your smile grows brighter when you see she brought a backpack with her.

"You moving in?", you ask, going to grab her backpack off her shoulder. She turns back and smiles, "if you'll have me. I was hoping I could stay tonight and just take you to the airport tomorrow morning?". She sets the food on the table, noticing the candles out, wine ready, and the place settings all set up. She turns back to you, wrapping you in a hug, "not ready to let you go." You kiss the side of her head, "me either."

After an amazing dinner where the conversation flowed easily as usual, you stand up to take the plates into the kitchen. She shifts in her chair so she can see you and ask, "so, how much more packing do you have?" You turn to her with a furrowed brow, "how do you know I didn't finish?" She stands up coming into the kitchen, carrying a few items that were still left on the table, "just a wild guess… soooo", wrapping her hands around your waist, her head laid on your shoulder blade. "I'm so close", you laugh when you tell her, "promise, like five minutes… probably. You want to come back there with me and we can just watch a movie in bed after? I'm so exhausted, even after a long nap today. Someone wore me out." You can feel her grin into your back, "means I did something right."

She follows you back to your bedroom, climbing into bed while you grab a few last things to throw in. She looks so good sitting there, you want to just crawl next to her and cuddle into her. Focus Harris, the sooner you get this done, the sooner that can happen. She brings you out of your thoughts, asking "so what's your schedule? I know you play France then England, but what's the rest of the time?" 

You shrug your shoulders, "honestly, I'm not too sure. I didn't really look over the schedule that closely." You grab your phone out of your pocket, pull up your email, and toss it to her. She smiles as she grabs it off the bed to look at it, but the longer she looks at it, you can tell something has changed. She quietly says, "the last time I was in London was for the Olympic finals in 2012, when we won gold."

You can sense an air of sadness come over her when she said that. You grab your suitcase and move it off the bed, climbing up next to her. You wrap your arm around her shoulder, pulling her close. She lays her head on your shoulder as you ask, "is that when you were injured?", not sure if she wants to gloss over it and move on or finally talk about it.

She nods into you neck and takes a deep breath. "Yea, I guess now is as good time as any." You squeeze her tighter, moving your right hand over to her left hand as an additional layer of support. "In the qualifiers, against the Dominican Republic, this total rookie did a shitty tackle, knocked my feet from right under me. It was the worst pain I've ever felt and I felt so alone, laying there on that turf. It was so quiet in there. I just heard Boxxy telling me it will be ok. It obviously wasn't. That was the last game I ever played." You feel your left shoulder starting to get wet, you shift slightly so you can see her face. You see her red eyes and the tears leaking out of her eyes. You don't tell her 'it's ok' or 'or don't be sad.', seeing you have been on the brink of this same thing too many times. You let her feel, you let her do things how she wants to do them. You are glad she is finally opening up about it all.

Moving your hand to wipe her tears from her cheeks, she continues. "Torn ACL, MCL, meniscus." You breath out "fuck, Al", you didn't know it was that bad. You move your hand down to her knee, resting your hand over the tights she has on.

Her voice starts to fill the stillness in the room again, "I fought so hard to comeback. I tried to get back for the Olympics. I went back to Germany where I was playing at the time to rehab and I thought I was doing so good. I went to workout for Dawn and Pia before camp started to gauge my fitness. It wasn't there, I lost my step, I lost my jump, I couldn't cut like I used too. It was over"

She starts to completely lose it, sobs now coming from the brunette. You pull her as close as you can, holding her, telling her, "let it out, let it all out. I'm here, I've got you." After a few minutes, the sniffles get lighter and her breathing evens out. She pulls back away from you, a little smile on her face, "sorry I ruined your shirt with tears and snot." You smile back at her, "don't worry, this was the shirt I was going to leave you with", giving her a quick wink and then pulling her into a quick kiss on her cheek.

"Sorry, it's obviously still hard. Do you mind if I keep going, I just want to get it all out." You nod at her question, accompanied by "as much as you want to tell me, I'm not going anywhere."

A weak smile comes across her face as she takes a deep breath and continues. "After I left the workout, I went to see another orthopedic surgeon for a second opinion. They thought the knee could be cleaned up more so I went in for another surgery. Went through all the rehab, from day one, again. I got a little better, but lost some mobility. Dawn actually flew out to help with my rehab there and to get more aggressive with on the field specific movement. It was better than before, but still not good enough. After consulting with my club doctor, they wanted to try one last surgery before throwing in the towel. Ash, I don't know why I did it. I should have stopped after the second one. I just wanted to play in the Olympics so bad, I wanted to play in another World Cup, I wanted football in my life. I still just don't understand why it had to happen to me."

"Baby, you are so strong, look at you today.", you tell her, holding her hands, pleading to her so that hopefully she believes it. Her sad, red eyes are killing you, but there is nothing you can do to fix this. It's unfixable, you have to just be there for her emotionally. "I don't know why it happened to you either and I can only pretend I know how you feel, to have everything you ever worked towards ripped out from under you, not even by something you could control. I have been injured so many times, I probably won't even be able to move my arms or legs in ten years. I am sure you have seen the scars on my body.", you say bringing a little smile to her face as she nods.

You continue, "just tell me how I can be there for you and I will be. Don't feel like you have to come to my games here if it's too painful. I understand and won't think bad about it. It means so much that you shared your story with me." She interrupts you, "no. I am not letting it take one more thing from me. It already took so much of my life and my happiness away. I need to face it head on. I did it in LA and I will do it here. There is no where else I would be than by your side, cheering you on. You are quickly becoming the most important person in my world and there is no fucking way I am going to let this get in between us."

Her passion getting the best of her, you can see the fire in her eyes, and you feel deep in your gut how she feels about you. Willing to overcome her fears, nightmares, and shortcomings to support you. Your body takes over as you lean in and kiss her, your hands moving to cup her face as you try and convey what her words mean to you. Your heart is pounding out of it's skin. You pull away after a few minutes of enjoying each other to look in her eyes. You tuck some of her hair that had fallen forward, behind her ear, leaving your hand there so you can rub her cheek with your thumb, before starting to speak again, this time with emotion in your voice.

"Do you remember what I told you in LA, before the first training you went to?", raising your eyebrow at her. She nods yes, so you continue, "I said just find my eyes. Nothing has changed. The only thing that has changed is when I told you to say 'you got this'." She gets a confused look on her face, as a smile comes to yours. "now, you know what you say? You say, 'we got this', because you and I", pointing between yourself and her, "we are a team now and you don't have to face anything alone anymore."

\------ Ali

Overcome with emotions, she doesn't how to process everything. Ashlyn is more than she ever could have dreamed of. Sitting on the bed, holding each other, she doesn't feel like a failure. The way Ashlyn talks about her and how she sees the two of them as team, that's all she has ever wanted. She feels like she is succeeding, she is winning, something is finally going right after such a shitty period in her life. As Ashlyn told her before, 'maybe when enough shitty things happen in life, the universe finally decides to make you feel like it was all worth it'.

Ali pulls her in for another kiss and as they pull apart, each taking a deep breath, but maintaining eye contact. She finally speaks up to Ashlyn, "if you want to talk to HAO or Whit about us while in camp, feel free. Maybe just ask them to keep it to themselves, just until we navigate things for now. It probably wouldn't be the best story to come out how you are dating the hot, ESPN reporter." Ashlyn nearly spits out the water she had just taken a sip of before being able to talk, "oh is that right?", a smirk coming to her face. "Don't you think it looks worse you are dating the badass, tattooed keeper of the team?" Ali shrugs her shoulders, "nah, it gives me some street cred."

Ashlyn rolls her eyes as she is getting up off the bed to grab a few more things from the bathroom to throw in her bag. Ali grabs the blonde's phone to try and look at the email again. When she hits the button to turn the phone on, she sees the lock screen and her heart melts. There in front of her, the selfie Ashlyn took of them last night at the Lincoln Memorial. Her heart skips a beat that she would even think to do this. She is caught staring when she hears Ashlyn walking back into the room, mumbling about something. As she looks up, Ashlyn is looking at her and stops in her tracks, a little confused at the look on Ali's face, "what?"

Ali, miraculously keeping a straight face, just turns the phone around to face Ashlyn with the picture showing. Ashlyn's eyes widen a bit before asking softly and slowly, "good or bad?"  Ali can't keep up the act, a smile coming to her face, tip of her tongue poking out of between her teeth, "good, very good. Heart caught in my throat good." Ashlyn's face starts to lift as she shrugs her shoulders before walking over to the bed, looking down at her. "Honesty?", she asks the brunette. Ali nods, waiting for her to continue. "I can't stop thinking about last night and I'm totally not one to be 'that girl', but seriously, Al? This is a really easy way for me to stare at you when you aren't around." Ali sighs, "fine, but will you send it to me so I can have it on mine too?", holding out Ashlyn's phone for her to take.

After Ali gets the photo and makes the change to have it as her lock screen, she opens up her phone and goes to Instagram. "It's time to take the next step", handing her phone over, "add yourself so I can stalk through all your old pictures when I'm bored. I told you how I have to start using this more? Well, they told me again, so if I have to use it, I might as well be entertained". Ashlyn just laughs, shaking her head, as she takes the phone and starts following herself through Ali's profile. After she gives her phone back, Ashlyn gets her phone off the bed and adds Ali.

"Well, now that we are official and all…", Ashlyn says as she climbs on the bed. "You ready to watch a movie?" Ali nods, before suggesting, "would you mind if I just get ready for bed? I'm pretty sure I'm going to fall asleep about five minutes in.", she says with an embarrassed chuckle. "I knew I kept you around for a reason, you are a smart one with lots of good ideas.", Ashlyn leans forward to give her a little peck before helping Ali off the bed.

As they are finishing up in the bathroom, Ali turns to Ashlyn, stepping towards her. She puts her hands on her chest before telling her, "you know the last time I was in this bathroom I was trying to decide if I should sleep with you."

A smirk comes to Ashlyn's face before husking out, "and how did that turn out?" Ali gets on her tiptoes, lips an inch apart, she breathes out, "second best decision I ever made." She can feel Ashlyn's smirk fall a little, so she continues, "cause you see, the best decision I ever made was last night when you asked me to be yours and I said yes."

Bingo.

Their lips come together, hard, their bodies tight against each other. Ashlyn turns her around so her back is hitting the counter, continuing to deepen the kiss before pulling back, both of you trying to catch your breath and gain control of yourselves. Ashlyn tells her, "pretty much best decision I ever made was telling you to move all your shit so I could sit next to you at the airport." Ali laughs so loud, it's so contagious, Ashlyn starts laughing as well, before she takes her hand and lead her out the bathroom.

"Do you want something to sleep in or did you bring something?", Ashlyn asks while she is standing by her dresser. Ali shrugs her shoulders, getting a small smile on her face before she says quietly, "I was kinda hoping we could sleep naked. I love how your body feels against me." A massive smile comes across her face, "works for me", she says as she starts stripping out of her clothes. Ali doesn't even realize what's happening, it happened so fast. There in front of her, Ashlyn stands completely naked, so confident  and beautiful. She looks back to you before making these hand gestures at her, "well, hurry up, it's cold! I want under the covers."

It doesn't even take more than ten minutes after they lay down for them both to be completely asleep, Ashlyn's arm thrown over Ali's mid-section, as close as they could get.

 --

An extremely loud noise coming from the other side of the bed jars her awake. Still under the heavy arm of Ashlyn, she finally realizes it's her phone alarm on the nightstand. Of course, the blonde is still completely passed out which Ali rolls her eyes at.

"Babe", she whispers, rubbing her arm. This only makes her hold Ali tighter, shifting even more into her back. "Ashlyn", this time much louder, startles her awake, almost jumping out of the bed.

"Oh shit", she says rolling over to hit snooze. Ali moves to her back and looks over at Ashlyn who was trying to snuggle up on her again. "Are you seriously going back to sleep right now?", Ali asks, completely wide awake at this point. Ashlyn just grunts out a "yes", and lays her head on Ali's shoulder.

"Time to get up, Ash", she chuckles out while placing a kiss on her forehead.

"I don't want too. I want to stay in bed with you, you are so warm", she pauses for a second or two, "and beautiful", moving her hand up to rub over one of Ali's breasts.

Ali takes Ashlyn's hand and moves it off, laughing even harder, "trust me, if we had time…but you need to shower. We have to leave in like forty-five minutes."

"Shower with me. Please", she opens her eyes, pleading with Ali.

"Can we get out of here in forty-five minutes? That means we actually have to shower, none of your funny business like last time.", she says with her eyebrows raised.

"Um, if I recall", the blonde says while rolling over on top of her, "it was you that was doing all of the funny business in the shower", leaning closer to give her a chaste kiss on the lips.

"Well, you had all intentions too, you just couldn't wait", Ali says as she wraps her arms around her girlfriend's back.

A huge smile comes over Ashlyn's face, "good point. I promise to be good, I just don't want to spend any moment without you by my side before I have to leave."

"Fine", she breathes out, patting Ashlyn's ass. "I need to run out and get my bag so feel free to start the water."

As Ashlyn finally moves off of her into the bathroom, Ali gets up and goes to grab her Penn State sweatshirt she wore over. She unzips Ashlyn's suitcase, folds it up and puts in under one layer of clothing so she won't immediately see. After she grabs her things from the living room, she heads into the bathroom to brush her teeth. She was actually surprised Ashlyn was in the shower already, moving along quite nicely.

When she goes to join her, a big smile comes to the blondes face. Ali reaches for the soap in her hands and tells her, "turnaround". She starts soaping Ashlyn's back but making sure to reach around and make sure her front is clean as well. She hears Ashlyn sigh before saying, "how come you get to do this, you said no funny business. All you are doing is turning me on."

She laughs out, "it's not my fault you can't control yourself." With that, Ashlyn turns around and before Ali knows it, her back is against the wall, their wet and now soapy bodies sliding into each other. Ashlyn going immediately to Ali's shoulder and neck with her mouth while she pinned her arms to her side.

"Ash", Ali breathes out, trying to protest , as weak as it is.  Finally, Ashlyn pulls back and looks in her eyes, asking for permission, "please", she breathes out. Ali is gone, done protesting, and just nods. She knows this is the last time they can be together and both of them deep down want this release, being as close as they can one last time.

Ashlyn lifts off her arms that she had pinned, moving Ali's hand to her core while she moved her right hand onto Ali. Both know this isn't about drawing it out or taking their time. This is about being quick, and thankfully, both are so turned on it doesn't take either long. With moans and pleas filling the tiled walls, both bringing each other up and back down in a matter of minutes, together.

They wrap their arms around each other and just stand there, out of the way of the water pouring out of shower head on the opposite wall, holding each other, enjoying their naked bodies pressed into one other.

"I'm going to miss you", her weak voice breaking the silence, Ashlyn continuing, "I'm not sure how I'm going to make it. It already feels like my heart is aching for you and I'm not even gone yet."

"Me too, baby, but we will get through it, okay? No other option", Ali says while squeezing her tighter.

They slowly pull out of their embrace, knowing they don't have the luxury of time on their side. As they look lovingly in each other's eyes, they see a reflection of themselves, tears fighting their way to the surface.

Ashlyn leans forward and places a sweet kiss on her lips followed by a forced smile. She sighs, pulling them both into the water stream to finish up before they are late.

Once out of the shower, they hurriedly get dressed while Ashlyn throws in some last minute items in her suitcase. The only pause happening when Ali gives Ashlyn a hard time for giving her a hickey on the top of her shoulder. She can't get too angry though, as Ashlyn points out, "I was careful and did it where you can hide it. It's definitely not where I wanted to do it."

They end up out the door right when they planned on leaving, giving each other a high five as they see the time, while locking the door.

The ride to the airport is quick seeing how traffic isn't horrible yet at 530am, but it was also one of the quietest car rides they have had. Neither of them really knows how to navigate these unchartered waters. Their hands are intertwined, occasionally taking turns pulling the others hand to their lips.

To ensure they have a proper goodbye, Ali pulls into the parking garage, away from other cars for some privacy. She knows if she goes into the airport with her, they most likely will be a mess and honestly, she's want this moment with her and her alone.

Ashlyn's quiet, shaky voice breaks the comforting silence of the car, as Ali puts it in park. "Will this get easier?", looking straight ahead, fidgeting with the seam of her jeans with her free hand. Ali undoes her seatbelt so she can turn slightly and fully face to Ashlyn before taking a deep breath and telling her, "I don't know. I mean at least some trips we can make together which will help. I'm sure we will get in a better routine with it all and who knows, maybe you will be happy to get away from me." They both chuckle at her words before Ashlyn turns and takes her free hand and cups Ali's face, telling her "never."

A sad, tight smile comes across Ali's face as she leans into Ashlyn's hand. She is staring at the blonde, trying to take her all in. She let's out shaky breath, willing herself not to breakdown, knowing they only have a few more minutes together. She finally is able to find her words, telling Ashlyn, "I know what's it like at camp and at games, so I won't try and bug you too much. I want you to have fun with your friends and be able to focus 100% on the matches. I don't want to be a distraction."

"Alex", she breathes out, shaking her head, "you would never be a distraction."

Ashlyn's phone beeps as the alarm she set for having to check-in, is going off. She knows that somehow, somewhere, she needs to find the physical strength to open the door and get out of the car. She can't move though, glued to the seat and to the sad, pleading eyes that are looking at her.

She is brought out of her head, by hearing Ali's voice telling her, "c'mon baby, we have to get you going." Ashlyn just nods, leaning forward to capture Ali's lips in one, extremely slow, passionate kiss that's supposed to fill each of them with the others feelings to last them for two weeks. As both of them can feel the other's tears falling down their cheeks, they both painfully pull away, foreheads touching.

"I'll be thinking of you Alex, every second of every day. I miss you already.", Ashlyn tells her in a quiet voice. Ali, really trying to hold it together, answers with, "I'll miss you more than you'll know, but know that I'm rooting for you to kick ass, okay?"

A little smile comes to Ashlyn's face as she faintly nods, takes a deep breath and opens the car door. They meet at the back of Ali's car, suitcase now out, ready to make this official. Ashlyn opens her arms, Ali steps in and they completely embrace one another as time stands still. The blonde kisses the top of her head, whispering, "thanks for taking a chance on me, I won't let you down." Ali answers with a squeeze and slowly pulls away, telling her, "we need to get you going."

She leans up on her tiptoes and gives a quick kiss, patting her chest as she pulls away, forcing a smile. Ashlyn sighs, takes a deep breath, and starts to turn away to walk through the garage to the terminal. After about a dozen steps, she hears the car door close behind her, her eyes shut as tears are forcing themselves out. She just wants to turn around and yell "I'm falling in love with you" but she can't, not yet.

She does the worst thing she could do in that moment. She stops, turns around to wave goodbye, but unfortunately, all she sees is the brunette's head buried in her hands, shoulders shaking, and there isn't a thing she can do about it. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apparently, I am very verbose with my writing. lol. Every chapter I really do plan to cover off on a few days, but they usually only end up being one day at a time. I'm hopeful that things will start to speed up once they get to completely knowing each others story and expressing 'I love you' to one another. 
> 
> Sorry if it's a bit boring. As the writer, I think this story is about overcoming their own personal shortcomings to come together, which, I prefer to really flush out and not just make it this quick thing. That being said, I'm trying to decide if I just make this one really long story that goes to some endpoint (i.e. marriage/kids, etc) OR do I end it at a good stopping point and leave the rest up for interpretation OR split into separate stories within an overarching collection?
> 
> I'd love to get your thoughts on the above, the story in general, and whatever else. 
> 
> P.S. While I'm writing this story using the names and inferring the likeliness of Ali/Ash, in my case, I don't really think of the actual people when I'm reading or writing the chapters. Does that make sense? They are kind of abstract figures in it all, maybe because I'm also relying on personal experiences (to a point) and artistic license. That being said, it's obviously all fiction and you can interpret the characters as you see fit. Sorry, I felt I needed to get that out. :-)


	22. You Are My Everything

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An emotional day of travel.

\---- Ash

By the time you get to JFK to meet up with the rest of the team, you have been on a roller coaster of emotions. After you saw Ali balling her eyes out in the car, you wanted to rush back to her side, and wrap your arms around her, but you knew you couldn’t. That's just delaying the inevitable. What it makes you realize is how strong Ali makes herself when she needs to be but the second she can let her guard down, she shows her vulnerability and all of her emotions bubble over.

After you were able to move your feet away from where you had stopped and turned, you made it a few more yards to the elevator bank. Instead of getting in though, you just walked around the corner to a secluded area and got out all of your emotions. You were by yourself now and could let every wall come crumbling down. You slid down the wall and just knelt into a little ball, letting every emotion you have felt and that has been growing inside you take over, including the helplessness from the last few minutes. You know its better to just let it all out in some privacy before you get in the airport, and definitely before you get with the team.

It scares you how much you feel already for her. You have NEVER felt like this for any girl, ever. Even the ones you really, really liked, you have never felt like you physically need someone to live and breath. You would do anything for her and you really hope she feels the same. 

You finally are able to collect yourself enough to continue inside. Of course you are now running late and have about an hour till the plane takes off so you need to hurry. Luckily, you are able to sweet talk the woman at the ticket counter to accept your bag even after you missed the cut off time. The nice part about running a little late is that you basically can walk on the plane without sitting around long.

After getting settled, you dig through your backpack to get your headphones out and notice a piece of paper stuck in the wires. You notice after you pull it out, it's a note but are still a little confused. You shove your bag under the seat in front of you and start to open the folded note:

_Ash-_

_I'm hoping you find this and don't just throw it away. :-)_

_Good luck against France and England, I know you'll crush. I wish I could be there in person cheering you on but know, I'll be yelling my head off back here for you._

_The main reason I wanted to give you this, is I wanted to make sure you know how important you are to me. Before we met, I wasn't looking for anyone and was fine going through life with my eyes half closed. Now I'm ready to embrace anything and everything with you by my side._

_Every day with you has been amazing but Monday night was one of the best nights of my life. Everything from the rose you gave me, to that amazing dinner, to you sharing your secret place with me, and of course, asking me to start to a journey with you, hopefully one that lasts our entire lives._

_Please know, you are my everything._

_Yours ,  
Alex_

Well, fuck. You had your shit together until you read that, now you are about to turn into a blubbering mess again. You take a few deep breaths and allow a few stray tears to squeeze out. 

You get your phone out of your pocket, knowing you only have a few minutes before they close the boarding door. 

_Ash: so, someone left a note in my bag… Know anything about that?_

_Ali: oh yeah, what's that? I know nothing._

_Ash: you are the most thoughtful, passionate, loving person I know. That note means more to me than you'll ever know._

_Ali: :-) XX_

_Ali: I just want you to never doubt how I feel when you are gone. I meant every word in there._

_Ash: The flight attendant just gave me the stink eye so I gotta go. I'll text when we are leaving nyc._

_Ash: I miss you so much._

_Ali: alright baby. I miss you already. Safe travels._

_Ash: XO_

You turn off your phone and read the note one more time before folding it back up and putting it in your wallet. Sliding on your headphones, you stare out the window as you take off with DC and Ali, get further and further away.

\---- Ali

Waiting for Kyle at lunch was really the last thing she wanted to do right now, but maybe it will help her get her mind off Ashlyn. 

As she watched Ashlyn walk away from the car, she really thought she would be ok. She was sad, that was undeniable, but the further she got away, it felt like a tidal wave of emotions starting to swallow her whole. She hurried back into the car and completely lost it. She started physically shaking and sobbing, she couldn't even function. It was this exact moment she acknowledged and accepted, she is falling in love with Ashlyn. 

After just letting it all out for a few minutes, she looked up and Ashlyn, of course, was gone. She is really happy she didn't see her have this complete and utter breakdown. She really wants to be strong and not be so emotional all the time, she feels like all she is ever doing is crying and she doesn't want Ashlyn to think that she is some sort of emotional disaster. 

When she was walking in from the car to your house to change for lunch, her phone vibrated with a message from Ashlyn. She had found her note. She wrote that yesterday afternoon before her going to over to her place. She wanted a piece of her to go with Ashlyn and to help her remember how much someone cared for her back at home. From the texts, it sounds like it worked. 

With her previous relationships, she never was this open book, wearing her heart on her sleeve. She was somewhat reserved, almost like she was testing the waters before jumping in with two feet, and that she only did once. Most of her relationships last a few months, but no one could handle the constant traveling or attention that she always courted. 

Her one and only relationship that lasted was her last one, with Kate. They had met through mutual friends and started casually dating before making it to girlfriend status after about six months. It took her another six months to tell her she loved her, something Kate had done far earlier. They never moved in together, Ali always insisting, she wanted to wait and make it more special. That should have been about the third red flag. 

After about two years in, she tore her knee up and her world shattered. She completely shut down to her family, her girlfriend, and herself. For the first six months after it happened, she poured herself in rehab so her support system gave her the space to focus. The second six months, during the multiple surgeries and being told her career is over was a completely different story.

Kate tried to show her the positives like spending more time together and being young enough to start a new career without too much trouble, but those were the last things Ali wanted to hear. She unleashed time and time again and her and finally Kate had enough broke things off. Deep down, she knows it was for the best, as she never really saw the next step or a serious future with Kate. She was a placeholder in her life, which became abundantly clear as time moved on.

She spiraled into a sadness and depression no one was able to bring her out of except Kyle. After she stopped answering his calls and texts, he flew over to Germany and stood on her doorstep till she opened the door. Ali being Ali, that took over four hours for her to actually let him in. After a few days of hardly any conversation between the two, he was finally able to start breaking down her walls. It started with an off-handed comment here or there but about a week later, a tank drove straight through the remaining wall. 

_(flashback)_

_Ali woke up and for the first time in months, something felt different. The fog in her head, a little less heavy, providing a glimmer of hope to pull herself up. She got up out of bed and went into the room Kyle was staying in. She knocked lightly, before opening the door. Her brother was slowly waking up when he saw her coming in._

_"Hey. Can I come in?", she quietly asked as she stuck her head in the room. He motioned with his arms over to the bed. She walked over and climbed into bed with him, under the covers as the house still was under a morning chill._

_"What's up, bb?", Kyle asked quietly. He knew that her coming in there like that wasn't all together strange, but it was the first time it had happened since he had been there. He could tell something was different, he could sense it._

_Ali shrugged her shoulders and then exhaled deeply. After a few minutes, her quiet mumble was heard, "I miss you."_

_Kyle knew she wasn't talking about them being apart over night. This, he knew, was for the past months when they hadn't talked. They had grown and worked on their relationship for years after he finally got sober and before all of this happened, they were thick as thieves._

_He wrapped his arms around her, whispering, "I've missed you so much", and that was all it took. She completely let go, sobbing in his arms while he kept whispering to her, "I've got you now. You don't have to be keep it all inside."_

_After what felt like hours to her, she finally was able to take a deep breath, exhale, and lift herself out of Kyle's arms. With swollen eyes, tear stained cheeks, and bring just completely drained physically, she told him "I want to get better. I need to get better. Will you please help me?"_

_(end of flashback)_

It didn't happen overnight and it definitely wasn't easy, but Kyle made sure he was there every step of the way, even thousand miles apart. She will forever grateful for him and it's something that cemented the bond between them. 

She is pulled out of her fog when she sees him coming in, backpack over his shoulder. 

"Ugh, it was so beautiful this morning. I went down and took some pictures of the fog over the Potomac ", he lets out before giving her a hug and sitting down across from her. 

He stares at her for a minute before voicing some concern, "why do you look like you have been crying your eyes out this morning?! Did Ashlyn love it and leave it?" He felt confident enough in the answer to joke about it but secretly a bit worried. 

She lets out a soft chuckle and shake of her head. A long sigh comes from her lips before she starts down the emotional path of her morning. "She left this morning for matches in Europe. Kyle, I completely lost my shit after she left. I mean, breakdown, debilitating sobbing. What the fuck has happened to me?" running her hands thru her hair. 

What she doesn't know was the text Kyle got early. 

_Ashlyn: Hey Kyle. It's Ashlyn_.

_Kyle: hey! What's up? Is Alex okay?_

_Ashlyn: yeah, I'm at the airport headed to Europe. That's actually why I'm texting._

"…", the longest time in Kyle's life was waiting for those dots to materialize into words. 

_Ashlyn: I turned around to wave bye and she was balling in the car. Can you just hang with her today for a bit? She said you guys were having lunch I think. It broke my heart leaving her._

_Kyle: thanks for the heads up. Yeah, we are meeting in a bit._

_Ashlyn: don't tell her I said anything. Please? She doesn't know I saw._

_Kyle: secret is safe with me. Thanks for looking out for her. I see why she keeps you around._

After a minute where Ashlyn was gathering her thoughts, at least he assumed.

_Ashlyn: she means the world to me. I'm just as broken right now. Thanks for being there for her._

_Kyle: that's what big bros do. I'll take care of our girl. Good luck next week._

_Ashlyn: thanks man. I owe you dinner or something._

_Kyle: nope. All I want is for you take care of Alex and treat her like the princess we know she is._

_Ashlyn: haha done and done. I don't think she would have it any other way._

_Ashlyn: I gotta run. Thanks bro._

_Kyle: xx_

Back in the moment, Kyle reaches across to out his hand on hers, "what the fuck has happened is that you have been completely swept off your feet and you are in deep. You know that right?"

"Ugh", she groans out, "yes, I know that", a small smile coming to her face. 

"There's my girl", letting a smile coming to his face now. "Now give me the details of this date!"

She recaps the whole night from when she showed up at her doorstep until they got home, keeping out the importance of Ashlyn's spot. To say he was impressed was an understatement. "Can I be her girlfriend too?! Jesus." , he exclaimed loud enough for the nearby tables to turn and look. 

Their food comes and they settle into a comfortable silence eating their lunch until she chimes in, "so I told her about my knee last night. All of it. It felt good to get it out. And you know the best part, she didn't minimize it, or say some condescending shit. She gets it, she's been hurt. I just wonder if I had that support then if things would have been different."

He interrupts her, "you can't think like that. What would have happened if you had shut down on her like you did with Kate?" 

"It's not like that", shaking her head, "she never got it. She didn't understand it. I wasn't in love with Kate like I am with Ashlyn."

And there it was. She just said what she can barely admit to herself, out loud. 

Kyle's eyes softened, a soft smile on his face. "I know Alex, I know. You both are so head over heels, it's sickening. I just don’t want you two to burn too fast. It's only been like two weeks. " 

She starts to fidget with her hands before quietly mumbling, "I know. I'm not ready to tell her or anything. I worry about all that too." She catches his eyes before starting again, "this shit isn't supposed to happen in real life."

He lets out a deep laugh, "Alex. If I hadn't seen you two together I'd think you were completely crazy. The thing is, I see how you look at each other, even when the other isn't looking back. I see how much she cares about you, even when you aren't aware." He realizes what he said and hopes she doesn't pick up on it. She eyes him a little but just chalks it up to when they were out. 

Luckily, her phone buzzes so it gets her attention. 

_Ashlyn: hey baby. Landed in jfk. Headed to meet up with the team. I miss you. Hope you are having a good lunch with Kyle._

Her megawatt smile appears on her face. 

Kyle just mumbles, "well, I know who that is."

_Ali: hey baby. Yeah, just finishing up. He was just what the doctor ordered. How long till your next flight?_

_Ashlyn: about an hour or so._

_Ashlyn: I don't want to keep you. Do you want me to text when we land? It will be like the middle of the night._

_Ali: yes please. :-) I want to make sure you are safe and sound._

_Ashlyn: yes ma'am. :-)_

_Ashlyn: tell Kyle hey for me. At least now we can now be on a countdown until I see you again. Not soon enough for sure._

_Ali: ugh. Don't remind me. Miss you baby can't wait to wrap my arms around you._

_Ashlyn: telling me. ;-) catch you on the flip side. Bye girlfriend. xx_

_Ali: bye girlfriend. xx_

As she puts the phone down, Kyle is just staring at her. "What?", she asks, eyebrows raised. 

"You two are sickening.", he says while finishing his water. She just sticks out her tongue at him. 

"What are you doing the rest of the day?", he asks as they are paying their bill. "Not sure, I have no plans. What about you?", she counters. 

He shrugs his shoulder before suggesting, "retail therapy?" A huge smile comes to her face, "let's do some damage."

\----- Ash

After briefly meeting up with the team at your new gate, you end up settling in to your seat for the next six hours. Lucky for you, Whit ends up being your seatmate so you both catch up on what's been happening over the last few weeks since you have last seen each other.

"Something is different with you Ash, I can't put my finger on it", Whit says, looking you over with squinted eyes. 

You just shake your head with a devious smile on your face, "I have no idea what you are talking about."

Whitney just looks at you with a pointed look, "you better spill", raising her eyebrows for emphasis, "now."

Throwing your head back with a chuckle and then turning to look out the window, you take a deep breath. You turn your head to look back at Whitney before finally responding, "do I really give everything away that easily? Why does everyone say that.", smile on your face. 

This time it's Whit that lets out a little laugh, "maybe because you have this look in your eyes that I've never seen before, and I think it's a good look, but since no one will tell me...", trailing off. 

"Fine", you breath out, "on one condition", raising your eye brows towards your pestering neighbor. She just looks back at you rolling her eyes, which you just shake your head at. You continue, "you can't say any of this to anyone, seriously. I promised."

Whit shifts in her seat toward you, now way more intrigued than she originally was. 

A smile comes to your face, probably the biggest smile you have had since you left Ali's arms this morning. "I met someone", you tell her, watching her process this information. 

"Didn't you and Rachel just break up, like right before camp?", she questions you with a furrowed brow. You know how bad it all looks and the timing wasn't that great. You nod, "yeah, but you know what that was, basically friends with benefits, masked as a relationship."

"Anyway, Whit this is unlike anything I've ever known.", you say with complete seriousness, looking her in the eyes. "I wasn't looking for anything, but this girl blew in like a hurricane and I can barely function when she isn't around."

A small smile comes to her face before Whitney finally chimes in, "Wow Ash, I don't think I've ever heard you talk about a girl like this. Do I know her? Why is it a big secret?"

You exhale again, breathing out, "kinda.", with a smile retuning on your face. She just gives you the hand motion, like speed it up, "hello, who!?"

"So you know Ali Krieger?", as the words leave your mouth, she backhands your shoulder. "Shut up? Really? As in 'used to play on the team but now an ESPN reporter that you flirt with and stare at on the dance floor, Ali Krieger'?" You have to laugh as you nod your head, putting your finger up to your mouth telling her to be more quiet. 

"Neither of us were looking for this, but it just happened. We both just fell really, really hard, almost immediately.", your smitten smile still on full display. 

"So are you guys just hanging out, dating, where are things between you guys?", Whit asks trying to get the full picture. "Well", pulling out your phone to show her your lock screen, "I took this after I asked her to be my girlfriend a few days ago". Whitney grabs your phone, studying it, before giving it back to you. "You guys both look so happy, and ugh, so damn good looking together. I hate you both.", Whitney says, shaking her head before continuing. "The last time I saw you with her, it was at the club and you were too shy to dance with her, you need to give me the deets. We have a six hour plane ride so you better start."

You spend the next thirty minutes walking Whitney through your timeline, leaving out some things you just want between the two of you. By the end of the story, she is swooning over everything and asking when is the next time she can see her. 

"She will be around St Louis for the match in April. BUT", Ashlyn emphasized, "you can't say anything to anyone. We are trying to keep it on the DL but she said I could talk to you an HAO, but you guys had to promise not to share. We are just trying to stay in our little bubble and also don't want it getting out that she is dating me. She's worried how that will look since she covers the team". 

"Your secret is safe with me Ash, don't worry.", Whitney lets you know. "I am so happy for you, you look so, I don't know, different." Your eyes soften as you look back at her, "I feel different, I mean, between you and me, I am completely falling in love with her. That's the only thing it can be. I have never felt like this." 

Whitney leans over and rests her head on Ash's shoulder, whispering, "Ash." You lean over and squeeze her hand, opening up even more, "I am so happy, Whit. She makes me so happy." tears starting to come to your eyes. 

She lifts off of your shoulder to take you in again, "wait a sec, are those tears, over a girl? I may need to take a picture of this.", trying to lighten the mood. 

You let a smile come back to your face as you wipe a stray tear away. "Trust me", you tell her, "if you would have seen me earlier…", shaking your head. "I had a total breakdown at the airport. This girl, man, she's everything."

With that, the two of you make small talk until both of you know, you need sleep. You settle back in your seat, stealing glances at the pictures you have of her on your phone, eventually falling asleep with Ali on your mind and in your dreams.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Super busy week and didn't really have time to write. Not the strongest chapter out there but hopefully can tide you over for a few days. 
> 
> As always, let me know your thoughts. Your comments encourage me and make me think I'm actually doing a good job. :)
> 
> Goal is two chapters next week... but we will see.


	23. Just Along for the Ride

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Distance makes the heart grow fonder.

\----- Ash

The sound of the flight attendant indicating you were making your final approach into Heathrow stirred you from your surprisingly sound sleep. You notice Whitney is still completely out next to you, with her mouth wide open. Since you can never let an opportunity as golden as this go to waste, you take the napkins they had given you with your drinks and start wading them up in to balls. Once you have about of 5 of them, you shove them all in Whitney's open mouth before quickly pretending you are back asleep. 

"You are a giant asshole Ashlyn Harris!", Whit yells at her after trying to catch her breath from almost choking on the paper product. You just shrug your shoulders, not saying a word. "This is a long trip my friend, a long trip", the dire warning coming from your seatmate. At that, you just confidently say, "bring it on."

As you get to your hotel you find out that HAO is going to be your roommate and you could not be more thrilled. It gives you a little more comfort in that you won't have to completely hide your relationship with Ali from her and you have someone you can talk to about it all. 

You end up in the room by yourself since HAO got caught up talking to the coaches after getting your keys. Taking the opportunity for some peace and quiet, you sit down on the edge of your bed and get out your phone to send a quick text to Ali.

_Ashlyn: Hey baby. Hope you are fast asleep. Just wanted to let you know we got to the hotel. Catch up later, I hope. I miss you. XX_

The coaches have given the team 3 hours to rest, relax, and eat breakfast/lunch before needing to head out to training. You figure it's as good as time as any to unpack before you try and take a quick nap. As you are laying out your clothes, you see something you don't remember packing, in fact, you don't even think you own a blue hoodie. Intrigued, you pull it out from under the other clothes that are laying on top of it and a smile starts to form on your face. 

You unfold the newly familiar sweatshirt and shake your head, talking to yourself, "sneaky, sneaky, Krieger.", as you lift it up to your face taking in the unique scent of Ali Krieger. You sit back on the edge of the bed with your face buried in the sweatshirt, inhaling deeply with your eyes closed. You are transported back to DC, laying in your bed with your girlfriend wrapped in your arms. 

While you are lost in your daydream, the door to the room opens and HAO comes flying in. Before you have a chance to do anything with the sweatshirt, HAO looks at you first before her eyes drop to the sweatshirt which very clearly says Penn State Women's Soccer. "Ashhhhhh, what's up roomie", is all HAO got out before her furrowed brow starts to show, and she continues, "um, what's that?"

As much as you are trying to keep a straight face, a sly smile comes to your face as you shrug your shoulders. "Well", you say, holding up the sweatshirt for HAO to fully read, "what do you think?" You watch Heather's eyes go wide before she can find her words, "is that whose I think it is? And still, why do you have it… why do I feel like there is a story here?"

You let a loud laugh out as you stand up, laying the sweatshirt on the bed. "Can I at least get a proper hello first", you say as you walk toward her with your arms open. Heather just smiles at you, squeezing you tight. "No more time wasting Harris", Heather tells you as you both come out of the embrace. "I'm tired…", you whine out. "You can either get the cliff notes version now or wait till after training and I'll give you the full story. Your choice.", you tell her as you walk back over finishing taking your stuff out of your suitcase and organizing. 

"Fine", Heather breathes out, "you can tell me more later, but I just have one question until then…" You lift your eyebrows encouraging her to ask what she wants too. Pointing to the sweatshirt, she asks "how deep are you into her?" A smile comes over your face before telling her, "I thought you were going to make me squirm", flashing your dimpled smile at her. "All I can say to that is that, I think I may have found my soulmate." At that, Heather groans and falls back on the bed, "oh, this is going to be so good."

\------- Ali

After waking from a more fitful sleep than she was expecting, she rolled over onto the pillow Ashlyn has slept on to see if she could still smell her scent. While faint, it's there and it takes her back to the fact that she is gone for the foreseeable future. Kyle did a good job of distracting her yesterday while taking her up and down M street making sure she took advantage of the retail therapy she so desperately needed. 

She was going to work out with Ashlyn's trainer this morning by herself, which was going to be a first. She had about an hour before she had to leave so she grabs her phone and starts to catch up on emails but first sees the text from Ashlyn which immediately brings a smile to her face. She still amazed how a few simple words in a text makes her heart flutter. She lifts up the phone and takes a selfie of her looking over at the empty pillow next to her, hair splayed all over her pillow with the top of her grey tank top showing off her neck and upper arm muscles.

_Ali: morning. glad you made it ok. Missing you tons. XX_

_Ali: *pic*_

She pulls up Ashlyn's Instagram and sees she took a photo from the plane before they left NY of her and Whitney sitting by each other. Her mind wanders, wondering if she already had told her best friend. As she studied the picture, she could easily see that Ashlyn was smiling, but the sparkle she was growing to love was missing. Her eyes looked tired, a little bloodshot. She scrolls through the handful of comments on there and is actually a bit shocked at some of things people have written there, one including their desire to have sex with her. She just mumbles to herself, "well, that's a new one." She looks at the time and throws her phone down on the bed and gets up to start her day. 

When she arrives at the gym, Chris was laying out some cones for a few of the drills they were going to do today. "Hey Ali!", he yells over as he sees her taking off her coat and tying her shoes. She smiles effortlessly, waving over at him, "Hey Chris. You gonna kill me today since you don't have Ash distracting you?" He let out a little laugh, "you bet, hope you are ready." 

As Ali got closer to him, she voiced some of her thoughts from her morning drive over. "I was thinking, and it might be really stupid on my part to even open this door, but I was wondering if we could run some agility drills to really test my knee. It doesn't have to be today, I just , well, I'm not sure how much Ashlyn has told you", she trails off. 

He crinkles his forehead a bit before answering, "I'm assuming about your knee?" She nods before he continues, "she just said you had a knee injury and that didn't allow you to play anymore." 

In your head, you realize you had just told her the full extent of it the other day so you now understand a bit of his confusion. "Well, a long story short, I tore my ACL, MCL, meniscus had a few surgeries but never got my feet back under me", rushing through it all so that you didn't become a mess. You are realizing though since you told Ashlyn, it feels a bit like a weight has been lifted off your shoulders and for the first time when telling someone about it, you didn't feel like you were breaking inside. 

"I haven't fully tested it in a soccer sense, since my last rehab ended and I'm just curious, after 3 years or so, how strong it is." Chris nods while you tell him this, "yeah, we can do that. I was going to have you do some sprints today so we can easily work in some cutting and plyo to test it. Maybe next time, I'll throw some other agility tests in. How does that sound?" She returns her easy smile at him, "sounds perfect." 

An hour later, covered in sweat, exhausted, drained, and otherwise beaten, she sits over on the bench alongside one of the walls. Chris comes over to her with her water bottle, sitting down next to her. "Well, Krieger, I have to say, and I don't say this often, but you blew me away." She lifted her head to look at him, a small smile coming to her face before he continued. "If I didn't know you weren't playing, I wouldn't believe it. You looked good out there, really good." She sits up more, "seriously?" This time it's Chris that nods, "Al, your cuts were crisp, your speed was there, and that's after pretty much no real training for the last few years. I would love to keep working on some of these things, if you are up too it?"

Ali leans back into the wall, taking a long drink of water before looking back at the floor. Does she want to open this door up again, will just cause her more pain in the long run? Did she give up on herself too soon? Her mind is running rampant and then she thinks of Ashlyn. Her new backbone, her new pillar to lean on, and she feels fearless. A feeling that hasn't cursed through her veins since she was on the pitch. She wants to do it for herself, she wants to do it for Ashlyn, she wants to do it for Kyle , and she wants to do it reclaim everything this injury took from her. 

"Let's do it"

\------ Ash

After a quick nap where you wake up with your face buried in your new favorite sweatshirt, you change into your training gear before heading down for breakfast. Heather was already gone from the room so you just assume she is with the team. While in the elevator, you check your phone and see you have a text from Ali and you are instantly awake and that familiar warm feeling flows through your body. What you weren't expecting was the picture that came through. 

You felt your breath catch in your throat as you look over the image in front of you. It's one of your favorite things to look at, Ali in her bed, sleep in her eyes, looking so effortlessly beautiful. You find yourself just staring at every little detail of her face and thinking of all the times your hands, mouth and tongue have traveled over that space. 

_Ashlyn: you are so fucking beautiful._

As the elevator doors open, you click your phone off and throw it into your pocket. Once inside the meal room, you do a quick survey of the room and spot HAO and Whit at a table. You quickly grab some food and make your way over, fully expecting the Spanish Inquisition. But you were wrong, and that's why you care about these two so much. Both just make small talk about the trip, the two games coming up, and how it feels coming in to camp being the favorite for the keeper spot. 

"So Ash, how does it feel to finally have all that pressure on your shoulders?", Whitney asks while taking a bite of toast. You shrug your shoulders, "I don't know, it doesn't feel any different. I mean, I'm beyond happy to finally be getting playing time, but you know, I'm still as confident as ever." Heather chimes in, "That's what I like to hear." 

After breakfast, you settle into your seat on the bus for the first training. You are happy that you mainly are just going to be stretching your legs and not having to take place in any scrimmages. You are fairly tired and feeling like you have zero energy today. Jet leg sucks. Just when you think you can close your eyes on the way to get a quick ten minute nap in, your seat mate sits down. 

"We aren't talking about it on the bus", not even opening your eyes to address HAO. She throws up her hands, "I wasn't going to say anything, geez. Someone's touchy." A smile comes to your face, "oh yeah, I'm sure. I have known you for over ten years, I know how you operate", you remind her. "The only thing I'm going to say is that you are killing me, Harris. I'm tempted to just text her myself. ", she says as you raise your eye brows at her, before she just puts her headphones on closes her eyes. 

You finally are done with training and back in the room. HAO had to get some extra treatment so you have a few minutes to yourself. It wasn’t the warmest of temperatures so you are hoping to grab a shower and warm up some. Before you head into the bathroom, your phone vibrates…

_Ali: you do so much for my ego. :)_

_Ali: Hope training went good. I worked with Chris today. It went really good, I can't wait to tell you about it._

_Ashlyn: hey baby! I just got back to my room from training and was going to jump in the shower before HAO got back. You going to be around in like an hour or so?_

_Ali: home for the day so whenever :) maybe we can FaceTime? I need to see you._

_Ashlyn: you bet, baby. I'm dying to look into those beautiful brown eyes._

_Ali: need you here xxx_

_Ashlyn: no place I'd rather be. xxxx_

_Ali: go shower , talk soon._

_Ashlyn: k. :)_

As Ashlyn is getting out of the shower, she hears the hotel door close. You throw your sweats on and a t-shirt before taking a deep breath, knowing what's coming. As you go to open the door, the thought of Ali runs through your mind and a big smile comes to your face. 

"Alright, let's get this over with", you say as you turn the corner from the bathroom and jump on your bed. You grab the sweatshirt that you had left by your pillow and pull it to your lap. When you finally look over at HAO, she's laying up against the headboard, arms crossed over her lap, "I'm not going anywhere, so spill."

You take a deep breath, closing your eyes for a few seconds. "Where do you want me to begin?", you ask looking over at her. "Well, the last thing I know is that you two left the club together back in LA after completely eye fucking each other all night." You chuckle lightly, your mind taking you back there. Apparently both, you and Ali, thought you were much more discreet than you actually were. "Ok, then so I guess I have a lot to fill you in on…"

You start with the walk on the beach, which lead to the dance, which turned into your first kiss. At this point, Heather has already interrupted you numerous times, wanting more details… "What song did you dance to? Who made the first move?" You can tell this isn't going to quickly. 

Like with Whit, you skip a lot of the more personal and meaningful details, like how you slept together for the first time the morning after you came home from LA, or about the orchid you gave her, or the fact that you fucked in the bathroom of a nightclub.

The details you don't skip over are how you asked her to be your girlfriend, how much you really like her brother, how she is all you can think about, how everyone can tell you are a lovesick puppy. 

"I'm only telling you this since you know her history, but she told me the night before I left for this trip about her knee surgeries and all she went through." Heather just nods before chiming in, "she's come a long way. Ash, I don't know if she dove in and told you about the depth of depression she was in, but for her to even talk about it with anyone, it's huge. You should know that." 

You simply nod, not in that you know how bad it was but you do know how far she has come just between first bringing it up in LA and then DC. 

Quietly, you tell her, "it broke my heart what she went through. I mean, three surgeries?! I can't even imagine. I had two and you know what that did to me." You take a deep breath, then exhaling. "She's amazing. She is one of the most amazing people I have ever met." 

HAO looks over with a smile, "I told you that you should hang out together, remember? I can't say I was expecting this or even subconsciously, if I did, not this fast."

There is a silence in the room before Heather chimes in again, "What are you feeling right now?"

"Honestly?", you start, looking down. You see your hands fidgeting with the cords of her sweatshirt, before finding your words. "I think I'm falling in love with her." You pause before starting again, "actually, I don't think, I know I am."

\------ Ali

Ashlyn had just text her to say she was looking for a quiet place to chat with her. After getting a large smile on her face, Ali moved up the counter with her computer and waited for what was going to be the highlight of her day. 

As her computer rang out indicating a FaceTime call coming in, a massive smile came to her face as she accepted the call. She watched Ashlyn appear, breathing out "baby." They both just stared at each other for a minute, taking in every feature they had gone without in the last twenty-four hours. 

Just as she is going to say something, her phone rings, as well as Ashlyn's on the other end. Ashlyn glances at hers and sees it’s a picture before Ali watches her eyes get big. "Oh. My. God. I'm going to kill HAO.", she mutters out. 

This was enough to peak Ali's interest to see if she got the same message that Ashlyn got. A smile starts on her face, ending with her tongue sticking out between her teeth. "Ash, this may be the most adorable thing ever", she tells her while Ashlyn just groans. 

HAO thought it would be fun to text them both a picture she took of Ashlyn earlier while she took a nap. Curled in a ball, sound asleep, face buried in Ali's sweatshirt with her arms wrapped around it like a life preserver. All HAO said along with the picture was "this is going to be fun."

Ashlyn looks back at Ali through the computer screen to see her reaction. She hadn't even had a chance to tell Ali she told Heather and Whit yet. Ali meanwhile, is so overcome at this point at how adorable Ashlyn looked that when she lifts her head back up from the phone, she just puts her hand over her heart, looking back at her with such care. "So it was a good thing I snuck that in there?", she says with a smile on her face. Ashlyn just shakes her head, "you don't even know. It was exactly what I needed. When did you put it in there?" Ali just smiles back at her, "right after you tried to convince we weren't going to have sex in the shower." Ashlyn just closes her eyes, being transported back to that moment. 

Ali's voice brings her back, "so, I'm assuming you told HAO? How did that go?" Ashlyn sighs, "I got called out by both Whit and HAO so they both already now", she says, rubbing her face with both hands. Ali just laughs while Ashlyn looks up and smiles whispering out, "god, I miss that." Ali just looks back at Ashlyn and smiles, studying every bit of her, before answering, "I miss you."

Ashlyn fully recounts how both called her out on it and then interrogated her to no end. Both stories completely entertained her as she watched Ashlyn get so animated while going over it all. Once she told her everything, which Ali was completely fine with, Ashlyn flipped the script, "So, you said you worked out with Chris today? How did that go?

Ali takes a sip of her tea before responding. "Well, it went well, it went really, really well. All thanks to you." Ashlyn gets a confused look on her face, "me? What did I do?" Ali just chuckles at the confused look staring at back at her, before just diving straight in. "I told Chris I wanted to test my knee, like agility drills that I used to have to do." Ashlyn's eyes just got wide, "you are in a good mood so I'm guessing it went ok?", showing such concern in her voice and look. 

A large smile comes across her face as she gushes, "Ash", she breathes out, "my knee held up really well. Chris said I blew him away and if he didn't know better he would think I was still playing." 

"Baby, I am so proud of you. You amaze me more and more every day. Can I ask though… what made you want to do all of that?", Ashlyn says with a large smile on face, dimple showing. 

"You did", Ali says, with her eyes starting to water a little. "It felt like sharing that part of me with you, lifted part of the heavy burden I've been carrying around with me. I know that having you by my side during all of this, I am unstoppable. Ash, I haven't felt this light in years, and it's all you.", wiping away a tear that dropped. "And of course, I'm crying, cause that's all I do these days. I promise you, I'm not really emotional disaster.", she says with a chuckle. 

"Alex", Ashlyn says in her most sincere way, "As much as I would love to take credit for that, you know that's all you, right?", lifting her eye brows up for emphasis. "I will be by your side to lift you high when your low, to make you smile when your down, to make you forget your fears and just go for it, and know that in here", she says, patting her hand over her chest, "I'm forever your biggest fan. Everything you just said, I've never been that for anyone before and you saying I'm that for you?", shaking her head, "It will be one of the best things I did in my life." 

All Ali can say is, "why can't I hug your right now? You are beyond amazing. I'm not sure how I got so lucky.", still just looking through a computer screen at her other half, oozing admiration. 

Ashlyn let's a little smile come on her face, "well, you see Krieger. That's where you got it wrong. I'm the lucky one here, you are just along for the ride."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I gave you two chapters this week... but only one for this story. semantics, right? :)
> 
> As usual, let me know what you guys think of this one.


	24. Alone

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Distance taking its toll.

\----- Ali

After spending almost thirty minutes catching up with Ashlyn, including a five minute drawn out goodbye as neither wanted to go, she gets ready to go meet up with one of her close friends from growing up, Steph. She hadn't really had time to reconnect with many people since she had been back, except for Steph, which surprises no one. The problem was that since she had been back from LA, she has been fairly consumed with Ashlyn or spending time with Kyle, she hadn't really even been texting with her. Now that Ashlyn is gone, she really needs a distraction and a needs to get some balance back. 

Steph actually worked downtown so they decided to hit up happy hour after she got off work. Ali was happy for childhood friends like her. She knew her whole story and was there with Kyle to help her during her journey back from her injury and preputial sadness. She hadn't really told her much about Ashlyn, so she is excited to share this with someone new. 

She was sitting in the bar at City Tap House for a few minutes before Steph showed up. She finds it extremely annoying that guys assume that she is single and would even be interested. After sending away two suitors in the matter of minutes, she is beyond grateful when she sees Steph coming through the door. 

"Ugh, you don't know how bad I need drink", was the first thing out of Steph's mouth as she pulls out of the hug and sits down. 

"Well, lucky for you, I already ordered us some wine so I have that covered", Ali gets out as she pats her friends hand on the table. 

"So what have you been up too? We haven't really talked since you've been back from LA. Why have you exiled yourself from everyone?

The waiter sits down the bottle and two glasses, Steph immediately raising her eyebrows, "oh, so it's gonna be one of those nights…"

Ali just giggles as they cheer and both take a sip,"So, I, um, met someone", she gets out as she sits her glass down. 

Steph's eyes go big, "really? Do I know her? I assume it's a her and you haven't decided to go straight and steal away all the guys."

"Trust me, you can have them, still into women", she pauses before diving in. "I doubt you know her. She lives here but can't imagine you guys are in the same circle. She plays for the Spirit", this immediately makes Steph raise her eyebrows, surprised Ali is dating someone in the soccer world. "I met her at the camp I was at in LA and I don't know, we just had this immediate connection."

"Was it just a physical connection? I mean, you haven't even looked twice at anyone since Kate and that was years ago."

"Physical, emotional, it's been all consuming. She tapped into something I thought died a long time ago. I was pretty sure I would die old and single", she laughs out taking another sip. 

"Pictures, I need pictures"

Ali grabs her phone and shows her the one Ashlyn took the other night that she has made her screensaver as well.

"God damn, Al, she is beautiful." Ali just nods in agreement with a massive smile. She opens her phone and goes to Instagram to find a photo that shows off her tats since Steph knows she loves them. 

"Here", she says handing her the phone, "I think you'll see the physical attraction piece."

"Fuck… I'd like women if this one came up to me. You and your tattoos, Alex. You really are obsessed." Ali just shrugs her shoulders while Steph takes it upon herself to scroll through more pictures. "So, let's see. She's a keeper. She likes the beach. What else do I need to know? I am assuming you've slept with her? How is that? Cause I have a feeling there is no way you have kept your hands off of each other this long", handing the phone back to Ali. 

"Oh my god. Yeah, I couldn't control myself, you have no idea", she chuckles thinking back to her jumping her that first morning together. "It's the best sex I've ever had, no joke. The woman can do things…" 

Steph stops her, "ok, now you are just making me jealous." She takes a sip of wine, "so are you guys just hooking up, where are we with things?"

Ali sighs, "don't judge me, but we are together, she's my girlfriend, and I'm pretty sure I'm falling in love with her", she just spits it all out and waits for it. 

Steph's eyes go big, "wait a minute, did you just say you are falling in love with her?" Ali just bites her lower lip and nods. "That's a bit fast, don't you think?"

Ali stares at her glass for a minute, thinking of their past few weeks together before answering that." You know, if someone told me that, I'd probably have the same reaction, especially with my track record. I don't think I could even put in words what she means for me and to me. She is everything I have ever looked for. She's kind, considerate, passionate, humble, funny, to name a few. I think when you met her, she'll sweep you off your feet as well. Kyle was skeptical but once they met and hung out, he understood." 

"Wow, Kyle has already met her?! This IS serious." Steph picks up her wine glass and continues, "I trust you Alex, I just don't want you to get hurt. But on that note, it's time for a toast again", as both glasses get filled. "To Alex finding her missing piece."

Ali gets the biggest smile, "cheers to that." 

"When do I get to meet her? You should have brought her tonight."

"She actually just left for a few weeks to go to Europe with the national team, so might be a bit."

"Well, double date when she gets back, ok? I need to give my stamp of approval before you get married and are probably pregnant in the next six months, the way this is going, it wouldn't surprise me." 

Ali just gets the biggest smile knowing that there is probably some truth in that statement and she wouldn't complain one bit. 

\---- Ash

You go to bed tonight happy to finally have seen Ali's face and to catch up with her. You miss her, your body aches for her and it's barely been 36 hours. It's when sleep starts to elude you, that you feel something else creep in. Something you aren't inviting in, the darkness. 

Sometimes it sneaks up on you when you least expect it. You are confused why this is seeping in now. You aren't alone anymore, you have someone amazing by your side. On the selfish side of things, you are nervous because this can't affect your job. It has before and the last thing you need this year is any doubt that you are the best keeper in the world. 

It's going on 3am and you still can't sleep. You are wrapped in Ali's sweatshirt, hoping it will fill your mind with her and push everything out. You have read her note that she put in your bag so many times, you can recite it from heart. You want to send her a text or call her, but you aren't ready for her to see this side of you. You want to explain things and ease her into your world of fear that is currently coursing through your veins. 

It's now 5am, curled in a little ball and you have never felt so alone. You are staring at the ceiling, your mind replaying every time you have been left alone. When you were in fourth grade and everyone forgot about you at school. One of the teachers finally drove you home to your house when it got dark. They walk you in the house and see both of your parents passed out on the couch. There was that time in college when you were playing back in Florida, a huge tournament game to send you into the final four. You left tickets for your parents at will call. You scanned the section and saw everyone's friends and family and didn't see any of yours. 

The alarm goes off and its 7am. HAO opens her eyes and sees you looking back at her.

"Ok Ash, you are just being creepy now."

You attempt to turn your lips up into a smile, but you can barely even do that. Heather knows immediately what is going on. You have had these 'episodes' all your life. HAO was with you in college and was one of two people you trusted with your full life story. They knew how to help, how to help you find a little sliver of light to look towards. If you can see that, you can pull yourself out of this, usually. 

HAO comes and sits on the bed by your knees. She is running her hands through your hair and over your shoulder, before just resting her hand there. 

"talk to me Ash."

You both are there in silence, except for the quiet sound of the air going in and out of your lungs. 

"have you slept at all?

You manage to shake your head no. 

HAO is looking down at you and can see you curled into Ali's Penn State sweatshirt still. As she is lifting her eyes to check the time, she sees the note on the table and can just see the name 'Alex' at the bottom. 

"have you reached out to Ali?

You shake your head no, again.

"what happened last night? You seemed like you were in such a good mood when we got in bed."

After a few minutes pass, you close your eyes, take a deep breath and make an attempt to let her in. You roll onto your back so you can look in her eyes. You feel her hand move to rest on your leg. 

"I don't know. I was talking to Ali earlier and I felt so happy to see her, you know, through facetime. I miss her so much. I can't get enough of her smile and her kind eyes.", you say, barely above a whisper. You continue, "once I got in bed, my mind just started going and all I could think about was how much I missed her and how alone I feel without her near me. I know it's stupid, it hasn't been that long, but, I don't know, she is just all consuming."

HAO has pure sympathy in her eyes while looking at you. You will take that over pity any day. You feel a tear starting to fall out of your eye. You don't have even have the motivation to wipe it away. 

"you aren't alone, say that to yourself if that's what it takes to believe it. You have me, you have Whit, you have 19 other girls here that would do anything for you.", she pauses, "well, let's go with 15 or 16, I'm sure someone is annoyed by you."

For the first time in eight hours, you let a laugh and smile come to your face before she continues.

"So you have all of those people here but you know what you have at home, you have a girl that is probably head over heels about you like you are with her. You gotta talk to her Ash when you start feeling like this, when you think you are alone. I know for a fact, you aren't, you just need to believe in your head."

You nod, you know she is right, and it's the same thing you have been telling yourself over and over and over again. 

"should we go down for breakfast? Are you, ok?"

"I don't think I have a choice. Jill would kill me and probably bench me against France tomorrow."

HAO pats your thigh and goes into the bathroom. You throw the covers back, exhaling a large breath. You swing your legs around the side of the bed and just rub your hands over your face. You didn't sleep at all, added on top of jet lag and limited sleep the night before, you know it's going to be a long day. 

Once Heather is done, you go into the bathroom to look at the damage. Wonderful, you look as great as you feel. You have dark circles under each eye and they are fairly puffy from the silent tears you shed throughout the night. 

You manage to sit down between HAO and Whit and eat a little. You aren't remotely hungry but you know if you don't fuel up on something, you are going to have an even worse time at training today. Whit attempts to make small talk and you try for a few minutes until you give up completely. You can see her out of the corner of your eye lean back a little and look at HAO. After a few moments, you feel her lay her hand on your forearm and lean toward you, "you know, you don't need to pretend with me Ash. If you want to talk, let me know." You look over at her and give a small smile and a nod. 

There is about three hours before training so you head back up to your room and crawl under the covers. All of the curtains are pulled and it's almost pitch black in there. HAO went over and was hanging out in some other room down the hall, so it's just you. You grab your phone off the nightstand and text a simple, "I miss you" to Ali. It's the middle of the night so you know you aren't going to get a response. You set it back down, grab her sweatshirt and curl back into a ball. This time though, you fall asleep within minutes. 

You feel a light shake on your shoulder first, then you are pretty sure you hear your name. You try and turn away from the touch and bury your head in the pillow until you hear your name louder this time. 

"Ash! You gotta get-up, we are leaving for training in ten minutes."

Once you recognize it's HAO's voice, you open your eyes and get your bearings. You look at the time on your phone and realize you have been asleep for almost that entire three hours. A small smile comes to your face knowing you were able to push the dark cloud, slightly to the side, and reclaim some precious sleep. 

As you are headed to the buses, you hear Heather quietly ask, "are you feeling a little better?" You shrug your shoulders, "not really sure. I slept that entire time which definitely helped, so hopefully I won't look like a total failure out there." HAO just pats her back, "never a failure, dude."

Training goes better than you would have thought. It helps to have something to put all of your energy and focus in, it gets your mind off everything else. The unfortunate thing of it all is, once it's over, the pain comes back. 

When you are changing from your cleats to your sneakers, you hear your phone vibrate. Once you have fished it out of the bag, you look and take a deep breath. It was from Ali. 

_Ali: I miss you too. More than I can express. It's lonely without you in my arms._

Ali's words should make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside, but they just make you hurt more right now. You don't have it in you to reply, making a mental note to do so later. 

When you get back on the bus, HAO instantly notices the change from twenty minutes earlier. 

"Hey, did something happen between the end of training and now?"

You fish your phone out of your bag, open it to Ali's message and hand it for her to see. 

"I thought this would make you happy", HAO says as she hands the phone back over to you. 

You shrug before answering, "maybe we shouldn't be together. She shouldn't have to suffer because I'm away."

"Ok, you need to stop right now. You know that's bullshit. Ali knows this lifestyle and there will be times when she is going to be traveling when you are back in DC. Take this for what it is, an amazing woman who hasn't even been remotely open to the possibility of love and all that comes with it, choose you."

You nod, again Heather is right. This is why you guys are close, she knows when to be the tough guy to pull your head out of your ass. Her voice pulls you out of your head. 

"Why haven't you text her back?"

"I don't know what to say."

Heather just looks over at you, rolling her eyes. It makes you laugh under your breath before you speak up, "you don't know what your going to do with me, do you?" Heather just laughs back at you while throwing her arm around your shoulder, "I really don't."

When you get back to the room, Heather jumped in the shower first so you just relaxed onto the bed with your phone, knowing what you needed to do. 

_Ashlyn: mmmm. Definitely wish you had your arms wrapped around me._

A few minutes pass before the phone vibration pulls you out of the sleep you were about to fall into. 

_Ali: how was the rest of your night and this morning?_

You have two ways to play this.

 _Ashlyn: it was good._

You take the cowards way out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit rusty on this one, so apologize for it being short and not as good as usual. lol. It's all coming back to me, so look to get something up sooner than later. 
> 
> Thanks for all the love on here (and my other story), it motivates me to keep writing :)


	25. You Will Always Have My Heart

\---- Ash

As soon as you say 'it was good', you regret it. You just close your eyes while she types away. 

_Ali: I'm so glad to hear that. So you want to hear about my happy hour…. ;-)_

_Ashlyn: of course_

_Ali: should we FaceTime or are you not able to?_

Shit. You can't let her see you. She'll call you out in an instant. 

_Ashlyn: yeah, actually I can't get away right now, text is good…if that's ok._

_Ali: fine :-(_

_Ali: so met up with Steph, I think I may have mentioned her… Anyway, had some wine and talked about you. ;-)_

_Ashlyn: and what did you say about me? That you are happy I'm gone?_

_Ali: I would NEVER say that! That's just crazy talk._

She's helping. She doesn't even know, but she's helping. 

_Ali: ANYWAY… She wants us all to go out on a double date or hang out when you get back. She needs to meet this girl that I can't stop talking about. Apparently, from what she's heard, this girl is amazing, beautiful… Sexy as fuck. xx_

A smile comes to your face and you think about how lucky you are. In that moment you start to feel the haze lift up some and you feel lighter than you have all day. Maybe you should have told her. It's too late now. 

_Ashlyn: were you looking in the mirror when you were talking? Cause baby, that's you. Every day._

_Ali: ugh. I need you here. How many more days?_

_Ashlyn: too fucking many_

_Ali: lol. That just means the reunion will be that much better, right?_

_Ashlyn: you better not have plans for a few days because we aren't leaving the house. The things I'm gonna do…_

_Ali: now you are just being a tease. We have ten more days…. :-/_

_Ashlyn: like I said, too fucking many_

_Ali: I hate to cut this short but have a workout with Chris that I need to leave for. Maybe we can FaceTime later?_

_Ashlyn: yeah, let's try._

_Ashlyn: hey Alex? I miss you so bad it hurts._

_Ali: I know baby, me too._

_Ali: have a good afternoon/evening. Xxoo_

You take a deep breath. You are so lucky. You don't deserve her. She doesn't deserve to be with someone like you. You are a fucking mess, you aren't worth someone so pure and perfect. Just as quickly as the clouds cleared, they are rolling back in like summer storm. 

\----- Ali

She threw her phone in the bag after she finished texting with Ashlyn. Something seemed a little different between last night and today, but she just chalked it up to Ashlyn being tired from training and still fighting jet lag. 

Once she got to the gym, Chris went over today's workout. It was going to consist of more soccer type drills, pulling a weight sled, and more than enough lunges. Those she doesn't mind, she wants to keep that ass nice and tight, plus she knows how much Ashlyn loves it, so she now has extra motivation. 

As she changes from her completely drenched shirt for something dry, Chris comes over and gives her some feedback on their session. 

"You did great today. Are you sure you don't want to try playing again?"

She just chuckles at his question. 

"Even if I could be half as good as I was, that's really not something I think I want to explore. Maybe a pick up game, here or there, but that's probably it."

"I figured but it's worth a shot", he says as he pats her thigh. "Have you talked to Ash? She ready for France tomorrow?"

"Actually was chatting with her before coming here. I'm sure she will be ready to take them down.", Ali smiles back at Chris while standing up and gathering her stuff. It took her back to how Ashlyn was acting earlier and hopes when she talks to her later, the conversation will flow a little easier. 

"Alright, Al. See you in a few days?"

With an easy smile, she responds, "looking forward to it."

Ali gets home, takes a quick shower, and falls asleep almost immediately. She ends up being completely out for a few hours and apparently had forgotten to turn the sound back on for her phone. She saw she had a few texts from Ashlyn and a missed call. Shit. 

_Ashlyn: hey baby. Just got back from dinner, wanted to see if you wanted to chat._

_Ashlyn: u there?_

Ali goes to listen to the voicemail, a tad disappointed she missed the call. 

_Hey baby. I'm guessing you might be taking a nap. I think I'm going to call it a night. I'm exhausted and with the game tomorrow, want to try and be completely rested. At least I'm starting, so cheer loud. I miss you more than words. I would give up all of this to be by your side right now._

Ali ends up listening to the voicemail twice. She picks up a sadness she hadn't heard before, and now she is worried that her initial thoughts that something was different between last night and this morning is correct. She tries calling Ash, but it goes straight to voicemail. 

_Hey Ash. Sorry to miss you. You guessed it, I was sleeping and totally forgot to turn the ringer back on. Is everything ok there? You will tell me if you aren't okay, right? I hope so, honesty, right? Hopefully we can chat tomorrow before the game but if not, good luck, baby! You will do amazing, I'm sure. I'll be cheering super loud for you. Miss you beautiful and know we will see each other soon and I'm not letting you out of my arms. Talk to you soon, baby._

\---- Ash

You open your eyes, thankful it's morning, and you slept. Today is game day. Today you push all distractions out. Today you feel less heavy. 

You pick up your phone and see you have a missed call and voicemail. You listen to your girlfriend ask you point blank, 'are you ok?'. You know you have to talk to her, especially if you want any chance of this relationship lasting longer than a week. You look at the clock and notice it's the middle of the night so you will at least try to talk to her later, maybe a quick text before the game and truth session after the game. 

You are attempting to get dressed quietly, not to wake your roommate. It's only 6:30am and breakfast doesn't start till 8. It's one of the things you like to do on game days, when you are starting. You take a twenty to thirty minute walk when it's still out, quiet and the streets deserted. You leave the hotel and walk across the street to a park, find a bench and watch the sun starting to light the sky before completely rising over the trees. 

You close your eyes and you visualize the game. You replay game tape you have been watching every day while here. You go through the motions in your head of having a breakaway coming towards you. You work through different players pension to take pks to a certain side. You take a deep breath, exhale, and open your eyes. 

You take your phone out and take a picture of the orange sky that is a mix of a dark night ending and a new day beginning. You text it to the only person that you are thinking of in this moment. 

_Ashlyn: thinking of you this morning and how beautiful this sunrise is. The only thing missing is you next to me, coffee in hand, taking on this day together._

After sending the picture and the text, you start writing another text that is far harder to write. 

_Ashlyn: I'm sorry I haven't been honest with you. I have been struggling being away from you, but don't want to bother you with it. I'm working through things, please know that I'll be ok. I just need some time._

You put your phone back in your pocket. Surprisingly, you found it some what cathartic to put all of that in the universe. You have told her before how you struggle, you were just hoping not to have her see it all so soon. You can't even imagine losing her so not being honest is completely off the table. 

You start making your way back to the hotel, noticing you have been sitting there about an hour. You took your journal and tried to put pen to paper with what you were feeling as well. 

You run back by the room to drop your journal and coat off and notice HAO is finishing getting ready. She knows your game day routines. They are the same as they have been for the last ten years. 

"Hey", she says as she walks out to see you taking off your coat. "How was your walk?"

"It was good, really good. I feel like I might have cleared my head some. "

"That's always good. Ready to head down?" You simply nod and follow her out of the room. 

Breakfast is fairly uneventful. Jill is going over the final lineup for the day, even though everyone has known since last night if they are starting and what formation you will be playing in. 

The bus is leaving in three hours for the match so you go back and rest, visualizing what you worked through this morning.

You are feeling confident as you get on the bus, Heather taking her usual seat next to you. You put in your headphones and watch out the window silently. 

The bus pulls up to the stadium, filing into the locker room. You find the number one kit hanging in the first stall. You would never admit it, but that still makes you smile a little bit seeing that. Making all those sacrifices worth it. 

After warm-ups, you feel loose and ready. As you are changing into your game kit, you take a glance at your phone and see you have a few messages from Ali. You internally debate if you should read it before the game. You go with the assumption she knows you would see it beforehand so it should be ok. 

_Ali: game day! Good luck Ash. You got this today. You are worth setting an alarm for :)_

_Ali: what an amazing sunrise. I think when you get back, after the endless cuddles and sex, you owe me a sunrise. ;-)_

_Ali: Ashlyn, I'm here for you when you want it. Trust me with your head and your heart, I'll always protect them like they are my own. I promised on our first date, sitting on those steps, I would try to take away your pain and I mean that with all my being._

You close your eyes, hoping your body will suck the tears that are threatening to fall back inside. This is why you are falling in love with this amazing woman. This is what you need to remember when you are struggling and can't move.

You are brought out of your moment by being called for line-ups and to walk out. You send a quick reply before you get yourself in line behind the captain and exhale, a new found confidence in your step. 

_Ashlyn: You will always have my heart._

 

\----- Ali

Ali runs down the stairs and turns on FS1 to watch the game. She is getting ready to go to the kitchen to make a sandwich but she hears the FIFA anthem starting, so turns back around, standing about two feet from the tv. The camera cuts to the teams starting to come out of the tunnel and that's when she sees her. Ashlyn looks beautiful in her white zipped up jacket, green shorts, hair pulled back into a single braid. Ali can't stop from mumbling out loud, with a small smile, "hey baby", as she walks past the camera. She makes a mental note that she needs to get herself a jersey to wear when she is at home. If she's in, she's all in. 

As the teams have now lined up, the US anthem is played first. The camera slowly making it's way down the line, showing each player. When it get's to Ashlyn, your heart skips a beat as you see her eyes flick to the camera and pats two of her fingers, twice, that she has over her heart. You aren't sure if that was for you or not, but either way, your eyes well up as your own hand goes to your heart. It's like you two just shared that beat together. 

The whistle blows so you take that opportunity to go get that sandwich you were going to get seven minutes ago. You can still hear and see the tv from where you are, so you are able to hear them talk about how Ashlyn is the favorite to become the starter leading into this year's world cup. The camera pans over to her as she is barking orders at her defense, three minutes into the game. Ali's mind wanders about what it would have been like to have played in front of Ashlyn. She also wonders if they would have gotten together if that was the case. She is pulled out of her mind, vowing to return to those thoughts, when she hears the announcers getting excited that France is pressuring the defense before Sauerbrunn comes up huge, twice in three minutes. 

She settles back into the couch and gets comfortable, grabbing her laptop to make notes about the game that will help her. The rest of the first half is filled with opportunities for both teams, but Ali's personal highlight is when her girlfriend comes up huge on a save. Watching her fly through the air and tapping the ball over the crossbar fills Ali with so much pride. It also filled her with excitement as she had thrown her laptop off her lap and jumped in the air yelling at the tv, "that's it, Ash!"

Once halftime comes, she is happy that it's 0-0 and Ashlyn has done a good job in the box. She takes the opportunity to take her plate back to the kitchen and run to the bathroom before settling back into her spot for the second half. It doesn't take long for the tide to turn. 

The game hadn't even been restarted for five minutes before France is starting to set-up something on the right side. It's like slow motion as the ball is driven in to Le Sommer who easily just heads the ball in past Klingenberg. 

"FUCK! What the fuck was that?!", Ali shouts at the tv. She knows Ashlyn is gonna be pissed that she wasn't in the position to stop it but most of all, her defender could have done more. She takes a deep breath, knowing there is still forty plus minutes left to equalize, and even win. She barely has that thought in her mind for less than a minute as France is again streaking down the right side. That's when Hourara goes to cross the ball but instead it hits the left post and goes in the goal. 

"GOD DAMN IT. FUCK!"

She knows it was a lucky cross that never curved fully. She knows there is no way Ashlyn would have gotten it but it breaks her heart a little that she got scored on in that way. She tells herself its now one in the afternoon and she needs a glass of wine. She ends up watching the rest of the game getting more and more pissed off at the missed chances. She audibly groans when Wambach's PK was saved and Lloyd missing a few sure footed goals. 

The game ends 2-0 and she just shuts off the tv and throws the remote on the couch. She isn't even sure what to text Ashlyn. They were in a weird spot and she knew Ashlyn was dealing with the distance between the two of them, hard. She prays that Ashlyn wasn't distracted or that her sadness played any part of this. She also is clinging on to the hope this doesn't push her further away. 

_Ali: UGH! You had some amazing saves today. I am so proud of you. I hope you could feel me cheering you on from here. I'll be around the rest of the day, if you need to vent. xx_

Ali finally wills herself up from the couch about forty-five minutes later, after it seems fairly certain, she won't be getting a text anytime soon. She tries to busy herself with some things she has been procrastinating about, but her mind keeps going back to France. She's trying to make up excuses of why she hasn't even gotten a text from her: they are busy with the media and getting back to the hotel, she's with the team and hasn't had a chance, and the worst excuse… she doesn't want to talk to me cause it's my fault she was distracted. 

She loses track of time and before she knows it, it's getting dark out. She goes to check her phone that is charging in the bedroom and there is still no message. She sits on the edge of the bed, with the phone in her hand, and devises her plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> slowly getting back into the swing of this one...
> 
> glad you guys are liking the update. keep the comments coming :)


	26. Go Get Your Girl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> don't we think it's about time for Ali to do something spontaneous?

\---- Ash

God, you are pissed as you walk off the field. You feel like you spent almost the entire game yelling at your defense and the only player that was remotely trying was Becks. How are you supposed to keep the starting role when shit like that happens. The second goal, man, you hate that it went right over your head and off the post. Why didn't you read that better, you should have backed up quicker to push it out.

Everyone is patting you on the back as you are in the locker room, starting to take off your boots. The coach walks in and tries to reinforce this was the first real opponent of the year and not to take the loss to hard. They were trying a few new things but will definitely address some items at the next training. She reminds everyone that there is a one am curfew and to be packed and ready to leave the hotel by ten am for their flight to London. 

After you take a quick shower, you throw on a pair of jeans and a button down so you will be ready to go out when you get back to the hotel. The girls were talking about going to this one bar down the street and honestly, having a drink is the best thing you can think of at this moment because you know the alternative won't fly. If you could just get right into bed and not talk to anyone for the rest of the night, you would. You grab your bag and head out to the bus, hopeful to have a few minutes alone to process everything. 

You grab your phone out of your bag before you throw it in the storage area above and fall back in your seat. You notice you have one message from Ali. You take a deep breath and open your phone. 

_Ali: UGH! You had some amazing saves today. I am so proud of you. I hope you could feel me cheering you on from here. I'll be around the rest of the day, if you need to vent. xx_

A small smile appears on your face for the first time since halftime. You know you should reply back and deep down, you want to, but at this moment, you just want to be alone. You scroll back through all of your messages, as far back as you can go and there you see the first texts you ever sent her. You were bored out of your mind at a photo shoot and she had already gone back to DC. Your smile gets a bit bigger remembering how you both were toeing the line, but still flirting with each other. 

You look up at the noise coming towards you and realize the rest of the team is getting on the bus. HAO flops down next to you and pats your thigh. She knows you tend to be a bit on the quiet side after a loss and with everything else going on this week, you might be a bit more sullen than usual. 

"You know, those weren't your fault, right?"

You look over at HAO after she says that to you, exhale and turn your head back to stare at the seat in front of you. 

"Yeah, I guess but I could have been a in better position for both of them."

"You can't beat yourself up about it. You have been thrust into this top spot after playing sporadically over the last couple of years. France was a tough team", HAO leans a little closer to finish her thoughts, "and your D didn't do you any favors."

All you can do is chuckle and return the pat on her thigh that she gave you as the bus rumbles to life, headed back to the team hotel. Once there, everyone heads to their rooms to drop off their things and are aiming to meet in the lobby in five minutes. 

You go to respond to Ali's text and see that your phone is completely dead. You mumble, "wonderful", to yourself as you plug it in and leave it on your nightstand as you take off for the night. You probably should have borrowed a phone to text Ali back, but hopefully by the time you get home, you can text or FaceTime. What you wouldn't give to be in her arms tonight. 

\---- Ali

She closes her computer and sighs. She really hopes she is making the right decision. She is thinking with her heart right now, not her head. She rarely throws caution to the wind and basically that's what she has done since she met Ashlyn, so why start now. 

Ali pulls out a carry-on bag and throws enough clothes in there for five days. From the time she booked the ticket to her leaving the house is forty-five minutes. She is scheduled for a flight that leaves at nine tonight. She calls the Uber early, just to get out of the house so she won't change her mind. She does chuckle that she is going to be at the airport for like five hours. Luckily, she has access to the airline club so can go in there and have a few drinks to calm her nerves. 

She pulls out her phone, still no text. She debates texting HAO to just to make sure everything is okay but holds on to that card a little longer. She instead calls her conscious. 

"What's up Queen?"

Ali just sighs.

"Oh, it's that good. Spit it out."

"So, I'm at the airport."

"Yeah…."

"Waiting to board a flight to London…"

"ALEX! What are you doing? You couldn't go another week?! Jesus."

"Hey. Listen and please don't say I shouldn't be doing this. She is falling apart"

"What do you mean"

Another sigh.

"She won't facetime me anymore and she just is being distant. She finally just said that she was struggling with missing me and made the offhanded comment about wanting to give everything up just to be together. I don't know, somethings is off. It just kills me and if there is something I can do to help, I will."

"Alex", he says this time quieter, "you always did feel too much and want to help everyone. Do I think you are doing the right thing, I don't know. Do I think you are in love with this woman, definitely. I know that when you love someone, you will do anything for them."

"So, I'm doing the right thing?" she asks in a small voice.

"Go get your girl, Alex. Make her whole."

A smile comes to your face, right about the same time you are pulling up to the curb at Reagan. 

"Thank you bb. I love you so much. Wish me luck."

"Honey, you don't need luck with those Krieger genes."

She laughs out loud, "Always one with the jokes. Bye Kyle."

"Keep me posted", he shouts as she goes to the hang up the phone. 

She gets all checked in and settled in the club, a glass of Pinot Gris by her side. She starts flipping through Instagram and that’s when she sees it. There is a photo that HAO posted and in the background, Ali can see Ashlyn, by herself, drink in hand, at a booth. She isn't quite sure what to make of all of this. Ashlyn obviously felt fine enough to go out but couldn't text her back? Now she wonders if she did make a mistake. Maybe Ashlyn just need space and what is Ali doing, jumping on the first flight to see her. 

Ali downs the glass of wine and is getting ready to get another one when her phone dings. It's a text from HAO. She squints her eyes and wonders about the timing. It's not like she had liked the picture or anything so maybe it was just some weird coincidence. 

_HAO: it's Ashlyn. I just wanted to say sorry I hadn't text you back. My phone died on the way back from the game so I left it in the room. We are out getting drinks even though I would rather be back in the room talking to you._

_HAO: thank you for your text. I felt your support, I always feel it in my heart. Sorry I let you down._

_Ali: You didn't let me down. Keep your head up, okay?_

_Ali: How are you doing otherwise?_

_HAO: missing you._

That's all she needed to see to know she is making the right decision.

_HAO: Do you want to facetime when I get back to the room?_

Shit. She knows this can't happen since she will either be here, sitting at the airport or on her flight. She hates to lie, but she kind of has too.

_Ali: It's ok, baby. Have a good night out with your friends and we will talk in the morning? Maybe we can facetime then…_

_HAO: OK. :-( I need to see your eyes and your beautiful face. I wish I could reach out and just hold you._

_Ali: Soon, baby, soon._

_HAO: Alright, well, I better get HAO's phone back to her. I'll be sure to delete the messages so she doesn't see you babbling on about how much you miss me._

_Ali: you are so funny tonight. I miss you, ok. You know I would do anything for you, right?_

_HAO: yes. And I would as well. You are my everything._

_Ali: night baby. Have a good time and don't get into any trouble, including hangovers._

_HAO: promise. night babe. Xx._

Ali let's out a breath she apparently was holding during that five minute text exchange. She immediately feels like a weight was lifted off of her chest. She's going to go get her girl.

\--- Ash

You walk into this French bar that in the US would definitely be considered a dive bar. Immediately, someone thrusts a whiskey in your hand and you take a nice long sip. HAO grabs your arm and pulls you toward a table that everyone has thrown their things down in. You are still feeling anti-social so you just grab a seat and sip your drink while you watch the others occupy themselves in the bar. Some are playing pool on the other side of the room, another group are huddled around the digital jukebox, picking out songs to blast into the bar. 

You glance over and see HAO, Alex, and Kelley all taking selfies and you just shake your head at them. As you are about to finish your drink, HAO slides in next to you, wrapping an arm around your shoulders. 

"Do you want my phone to text her?"

You look over at her, first with a confused look, but then the edges of your mouth turn upward slightly. "Do you mind? It's killing me that I haven't gotten back to her and she probably thinks I'm some giant asshole"

"Of course I don't mind, you should have asked. Anything to get you to have some fun tonight."

You laugh at her, "trust me, it's going to take a lot more than that. I'm exhausted anyways. I'll probably have one more drink and head back."

"Fine. Suit yourself", Heather says as she leaves her phone on the table and slips out to go join the group playing pool. 

You feel so much lighter after those few short texts with Ali. She always knows what to say, but it doesn't make the pain of not being able to see her or touch her any less. You would give anything to kiss her. You also would give anything to not be this sad for the rest of the trip. 

After one more drink, two politely declined offers from some locals looking to get cozy, you find yourself headed back to the hotel. You need to pack anyways since the team is flying to London tomorrow. 

\--- Ali

As the plane makes it's final approach, she starts to stir. With the cost of the last minute ticket and her frequent flyer status with the airline, she thankfully got upgraded to first class. Once she was able to calm her nerves, she was able to fall asleep for most of the eight hour flight.

Looking out the window, she feels amazingly calm. Maybe she needed to see Ashlyn as bad as the blonde needed to see her. The one thing that did start to creep into her mind was how she still doesn't really want the rest of the team knowing. Maybe she can say she is here on a research trip? Would they even buy that? 

Thankfully, Ashlyn had forwarded all of her travel info so she was able to book a room in the same hotel. Hopefully, that will make it easier for them to see each other and for Ashlyn to have a little escape if she needs to get away from everything.

Once she lands, she turns on her phone and sees she has a few messages from Ashlyn.

_Ashlyn: ah, a phone at 100%. Sorry again I didn't text before I left the room. girlfriend fail._

_Ashlyn: I hope you have a good night, dream of being wrapped in my arms. Miss you. Headed to London in the morning so let you know once I get settled._

Ali decides to take the train from the airport rather than deal with traffic. It's there when she is in her own world, that this is the first time she has been to London since her injury and the Olympics. She had been so focused on Ashlyn and getting to her that her own fears never surfaced. That in itself makes her feel another step removed from the pain that has consumed her most in recent years. She knows how good Ashlyn is for her, she only hopes that Ashlyn feels the same. She shakes her head thinking to about how Ashlyn has felt this whole trip and probably hates her for making her feel so down. 

The team is staying close to the stadium, which is about 45 minutes from downtown London. Selfish Ali would have preferred they were closer to the city so she isn't trapped out here but she figures she can just take the train in. As her train arrives at Kings Cross, she has to transfer to a regional train for the final part of her journey. At this point, she hopes the team finds out about her so she can just ride the bus back to the airport with the team. 

She finally arrives and gets all checked in. Looking at the clock in the room, she has about an hour or so before the team should be here. She decides a hot shower and a change of clothes would do her good so she jumps in and thinks about what her next steps are. She was so excited to get to this point, she hadn't even thought about how she was going to surprise Ashlyn. 

Ali feels 100% better by the time she is gathering her things to leave the room. She is on a mission… coffee. She thoroughly enjoyed her hot shower seeing how it's basically the same temperature it was in DC. She threw on a pair of black jeans, her favorite black boots, and black v-neck sweater. She's hoping Ashlyn thinks she looks as good as she feels. She throws on her puffy coat, scarf, hat, and gloves and starts making her way downstairs. 

She saw there was a coffee shop across from the park that sits by the hotel. As she is about four feet out of the door of the hotel, she sees the team bus pull up. Luckily, no one is expecting to see her and she is so bundled up, even if they did, no one could tell this was her. She decides to stop and lean up on the side of the building and watch. After a few minutes, she sees people starting to get off the bus and then she sees her. Her breath gets stuck in her throat as she sees the blond leaning down to grab her bag and walk into the hotel. It only lasts about ten seconds but in that short time, she felt an aching and excitement that she had been missing over the last week. She knows she is completely blushing so she turns and continues on her mission for coffee. 

As she is waiting, her phone dings.

_Ashlyn: hey babe. Made it to the hotel and getting settled. I saw there was a park next door so think I might go for a little walk to try and clear my head. I'll have my phone so feel free to facetime when you wake up. You know how much I enjoy sleepy Ali. x_

After reading that, she feels like a giddy school girl. She is so excited to see her girl, throw her arms around her and just melt into her arms. She thanks the barista and starts to cross the street back to the park. She takes a look around and she sees the blond crossing the street from the hotel and starting wander around the small park. As she gets to the edge of the park, she just watches Ashlyn, to see where she is going. Her heart is beating so fast, she thinks it's going to beat out of her chest. 

Ashlyn sits down on a bench in the sun and just tilts her head back to feel the warmth on her face. Ali gets a little smile knowing exactly what her next move will be. She heads the direction of the bench and when she is about five feet behind it, she closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. This is it, this is when she either made the best decision or the worst decision. She exhales out and comes around the side and can see Ashlyn's eyes are closed as she walks up. Here goes nothing… 

"Is this seat taken?", she says as she points to the empty spot, both hands holding coffee cups.

Ashlyn slowly opens her eyes, her eyebrows start to furrow in confusion. As her head tilts up in slow motion, their eyes meet and she just hears in the quietest voice, "Alex?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the comments, really appreciate it! Who would have thought... two updates this week?! You guys are getting spoiled again, maybe it will take forever for me to write the next one... lol.
> 
> enjoy. let me know your thoughts.


	27. Falling in Love

\--- Ash

After texting Ali, the only thing you wanted to do was get some fresh air. You feel like you are being suffocated right now in the team environment. As much as you hate being alone, you would give anything in this moment for it. You were thankful you saw a park across the street from the hotel as the bus was pulling in, your own little escape route. 

Crossing the street from the hotel, you notice that one end is completely in the sun. You definitely aren't loving the cold air, but you are hopeful that the sun will give you some of your life back. You find a bench, a bit isolated from rest. You plop down, close your eyes, throw your head back and soak in the sun. 

Your mind starts wandering to a happy place.You start thinking back to your first date with Ali, how much you shared with her and the things you did to her body that night. A smile starting to come to your face but then you are forced out of the moment. 

"Is this seat taken?"

God, that sounds just like her. You must be imagining this. It takes everything in you to lift your head and look in the direction of the ask. 

You must be hallucinating. It even looks like her, but it can't be. 

"Alex?", you barely breath out, like you are talking to a ghost. Except this ghost is holding two cups of coffee and is getting the largest grin on her face, biting her bottom lip, while nodding her head frantically up and down. 

You slowly stand, still in utter disbelief. "Is it really you?", you get out a little louder this time. 

Your ears perk up, your body feels weightless, you can feel the tears coming to your eyes. You feel alive for the first time in a week.

"Yes, baby, it's me." 

You see her lean down to put the coffees on the bench before you step to her and wrap your arms around her waist. You feel her arms wrap around your neck as you bury you head in hers. All you can keep saying is "Alex", over and over again as you start sobbing. 

"It's ok, baby, let it out. I'm here."

You both just stand there for a moment, taking it all in. After finally getting a hold of your emotions, your grip on her tightens as you pick her up and start to swing her around in a circle. You pull your head back and just yell out, "oh my god!" You hear her laugh, God you love that laugh, as you slowly come to a stop. 

Pulling your hands back, you reach up to cup her face between your hands, both sets of eyes boring into each other, you lean in for the most electric kiss you have ever shared with her. As soon as your lips touch, you both moan, feeling the grip on the back of your neck getting tighter. You instantly touch her lips with your tongue and she gladly welcomes it in. You feel the tip of her tongue, tentatively touching the tip of yours before you let a weeks worth of emotions sweep you away, aggressively taking over the kiss. You both forget you are in a public park, right in front of the team hotel, as you both are wanting to rip each others clothes off. 

When you finally pull back for air and take in your surroundings, a slight blush comes to your face but you don't even care. You don't care if anyone saw you, you don't care what a passersby thinks, you have your girl, and she is standing right in front of you. 

"How are you here?", you ask still in shock, both of your hands intertwined with hers. 

Her signature large, crinkled grin comes to her face as she motions towards the bench, "sit. Let's chat."

She bends down to pick up the coffees and hands one to you. You haven't been able to take your eyes off of her. As you grasp your coffee in your left hand, your right hand immediately finds her free hand. You have to be grounded to her or you feel like she will float away. You still aren't even sure if this is just a dream.

"I take it you are surprised?", she asks after taking a sip of her drink. 

"Surprised is an understatement, I'm in shock. What are you doing here?" You see her face fall slightly before continuing, "not like that, I'm so fucking excited right now, I can't even process this."

She squeezes your hand as her smile comes fully back to her face. 

"Well, you said you were struggling and honestly, it broke my heart. After watching the game yesterday, something just seemed off when you were walking off the pitch. I know you were pissed about the goals, but deep down, it's like I saw it in your eyes, what you had been feeling. I sent that text and never heard back and it killed me you were so far away from me and I couldn't do anything about it. So I went crazy and bought a plane ticket and here I am twelve hours later." 

Ali sighs, before continuing, "and I think the closer I got to seeing you, I was nervous, you know, that I was being this crazy girlfriend who was reading too much into things and just immediately jumped instead of just letting it play out. But I can tell you this much, I saw you walk off the bus here at the hotel and my world froze. In that instant, I knew that not only was I coming here to help you, I was helping myself. Ash, I think I missed you more than I was letting myself feel. You were all I thought about and I am not even sure I was going to make it that much longer."

You are simply staring at her, listening to how much concern and care she has for you. That she would drop everything in an instant to help you feel better. You lean over and kiss her cheek and rest your head on her shoulder. 

"I can't even tell you how much this means to me, Ali. I was lost, struggling to make it through the day. I've never had these types of feelings before, of being all consumed by someone. I've never been with someone where I just watch the clock tick tick away, deciding if it's too soon to reach out again, cause I miss your voice. I've never missed someone so much it was making me sick. It scared me on one hand, that here we are, what like three weeks in from knowing each other, and I can't make it a week without you." 

Tears are slowly starting to fall from your eyes. She releases your hand and wraps it around your back, pulling you in closer. Your free hand now on her inner thigh, thumb lightly rubbing her jeans. 

"I know I told you back in DC, that sometimes I struggle with things, and when I do, I want to turn to you. I'm sorry I didn't do that. I tried to hide it from you cause I was embarrassed and I realize maybe if I had just been more honest with you about it all from the beginning, maybe we wouldn't be sitting here."

You slowly lift your head and catch her eyes. She moves her arm from around you to wipe the tears that had fallen and that's when you can see her face is wet from crying herself. You mirror her actions and dry her face, both with soft smiles on your faces. 

"Alex", you grab both of her hands and squeeze them tight. "after our first time together, the morning after I got back to DC, after you left, I went back and laid in my bed and just thought about everything that had happened between us up to that point. I wasn't just thinking about the sex", you lean a little closer and lower your voice, "don't get me wrong, that was beyond amazing." 

Continuing, "Anyway, I was thinking how beautiful I thought you were when I sat next to you in the airport or how breathtaking you were when we were walking on the beach. I was so nervous at that moment, you have no idea", shaking your head. "My hands were sweating because all I wanted to do was hold your hand and then I heard that song I love and thought it was a sign, so I just went for it, and honestly it was the best thing I ever did. I can't imagine not being in this moment right here, right now, even with my neediness and full on depression this week." you lightly chuckle. 

She interjects, "please never apologize for wanting me or needing me and I'll never apologize for running to your side. Missing you this week made me wonder how I ever lived before you. You curse through my veins, bringing me life and giving me something to live for. When you walked away at the airport, everything I was feeling in those few weeks came to the surface and I was paralyzed. Ash, I completely broke down and I was so sad. I felt like my half my heart just walked away. I don't want to know what state I would be in if it wasn't for Kyle. He's been my rock and I'm sure sick and tired of me calling him every night when I'm just lying in bed, staring at the ceiling, holding your pillow, crying my eyes out because I miss you so bad.

"Baby", you breathe out as you wipe her eyes, letting your own tears fall off your cheek. "Why didn't you say anything?"

She shrugs as she takes a sip of coffee, sighing, "I don't know, you were already feeling so heavy, I didn't want to make it worse."

A small smile comes to your face, "so maybe we both did a shitty job of talking to each other about what we were feeling", end with a chuckle. She laughs while leaning in and putting her forehead on yours.

She pulls her head away to look in your eyes, "Ash". You look up making sure she has your full attention. "I'm falling in love with you. I don't care that it's so fast, it feels so right. I just wan…"

You cut off her words by leaning in and kissing her. This time it's soft, slow, and full of desire. You lift your lips off hers to capture her eyes again, before beginning to speak. 

"You had to beat me to that, didn't you?", a large smile coming to her face and you can see her visibly exhale before you continue. "I kept having these feelings in my body, nervousness, butterflies whenever I saw you, hell, whenever I even thought of you. I started questioning what these meant the first morning we spent together. I have never really had these feelings before. When I left you at the airport, I had a complete breakdown because I couldn't imagine a day not seeing you. I've never been on the road and really ever felt the urge to call someone I was dating or whatever. With you, all I want to do is talk to you. It's funny", you laugh and shake your head, "everyone it seems, Emma, HAO and Whit ,could see it almost instantly, that I was different, that I was happy, unbelievably happy."

"Alex, I feel like I've been subconsciously falling in love with you since the first time I saw you. When I woke up and you were laying in my arms that first morning, I felt like I was holding my future, everything I've ever dreamed of. When we were laying on your couch, after taking a nap, I woke up and was just watching you sleep." You mutter out, "I can't believe I'm going to say this and hopefully you aren't going to run and get on the next plane out of here."

Ali's eyes go wide before she leans forward and gives you a light kiss, "I promise you that isn't going to happen."

You take a deep breath and continue, "You had asked me if I was thinking of anything good, after our nap…and, um, I was picturing us laying there on your couch with you as my wife, pregnant with our baby, my hand laying on your stomach, just feeling our future." Your eyes staring into hers, you don't see her flinch, you see her eyes welling up. "Then I pictured us laying there holding our baby, it was our family, and it was like the most real and honest feeling I have ever felt. I want that with you one day. I want everything with you."

\----- Ali

She pulls Ashlyn into a hug as she sees tears starting to trail down her cheek, her own body giving into the emotions of the moment and as she lets her own silent tears fall onto Ashlyn's shoulder. Ali whispers out in her ear, "I want that with you too, Ash. I can't wait until I can hopefully give you all of that."

They both just hold each other, the only sounds are from the leaves blowing by or the cars whizzing by. They are in their own world, where they both are their happiest. 

Ali pulls out of the embrace and just runs her hand over Ashlyn's cheek before telling her, "you are so beautiful, inside and out." She watches as Ashlyn's eyes grow softer before suggesting they go back to her room. 

"So how many teammates are wondering who you are making out with in a park, ten minutes after arriving?"

She shows off that amazing dimple as she gives you a large smile while shaking her head. She's perfect. 

"I have a room in your hotel, do you want to go up? I just want to lay in your arms for a bit. I guess, I didn't even ask, what's your schedule today?"

"First off, I definitely want to come to your room. How did you know where we were staying?"

"You sent me all your travel info", she offers up with a smile. 

"Oh yeah! See, that's something I never did before. Maybe I knew I was gonna need rescuing", a shy smile coming to her face. "I actually don't have anything until dinner tonight, so I'm free for the next few hours. I want nothing more than to hold and kiss you right now."

"The one thing I didn't really think through was what being at the team hotel would mean", Ali says before biting her bottom lip. "I'm still hesitant about the team knowing all of our business, so I guess we should be on the dl some what, for as long as we can. Obviously, you can let HAO and Whit know, but for now, here is the key to my room. I'm in 2008 so I'll go up first and you can come up separately or whenever the coast is clear if you run into someone."

"Look at you Al, being all secretive and shit. It's sexy." 

Ali just rolls her eyes, "you would think anything is sexy at this point, your heart eyes are showing, Harris."

She lifts one of her eyebrows before asking, "and that's a bad thing?"

"Never a bad thing", she mumbles out leaning into another kiss. Ali stands up while Ash stays seated, "see you in a little bit?" Ash just nods her head while reaching out with her hand to squeeze Ali's free hand, "I'm so happy, baby." She just looks back at Ashlyn, silently expressing how much she truly feels in this moment. 

Ali walks back over to the hotel and can feel Ashlyn's eyes on her the whole time. What she doesn't see is Ashlyn jumping up in the air while thrusting her fists above her

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys liked the feels, let me know your thoughts!


	28. I'm so Flustered

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> short and sweet. smut warning... with an ounce of non-smut amazingness. :)
> 
> All from Ash's POV

\---- Ash

Holy. Fucking. Shit. 

Those three words are the only things running through your head right now. What just happened? You mumble to yourself, "was that real?" You feel like the weight of the world has literally been lifted off your shoulders. Your mind is in overdrive. Did you both just admit to each other that you are falling in love with each other? Did you just tell her about how you imagined her carrying your baby? Who are you. This was not how you thought your day would go when you woke up this morning. 

You take a look at your watch and notice it's been about five minutes so you start making your way back to hotel and up to her room. You try to move as quickly as you can to the elevator once you enter the hotel. She is on the twentieth floor while the team is on tenth. You step in the elevator and hit the large 20 button and jam on the 'door close' button, to hurry this process up. You feel the elevator lift off and you audibly sigh while running your hands over face, smile getting larger by the second. That is until the elevator dings on the tenth floor. Shit. 

As the doors open, you close your eyes praying it's no one from the team. Well, obviously all your prayers were answered about thirty minutes ago on a park bench, across the street. Your luck has run out. 

Fuck. 

The doors open revealing Megan Rapinoe standing there so you stutter out, "some dude that jumped out hit the twenty button so it's going up. Enjoy the ride.", hurryingly getting out of the elevator.

"Ugh, asshole", you hear Pinoe mumble out as you turn the corner in the direction of your room. You take your phone out and see you have a text from Ali. 

_Ali: where r u? miss u._

_Ashlyn: yeah, that would be because Pinoe just cockblocked me on the elevator. Give me a few._

_Ali: haha, of course. Hurry…_

You decide to go your room real quick and grab something but also secretly wanting to tell HAO cause you are so excited. When you open the door, the lights are off and you notice it's quiet. No HAO. You quickly grab what you came for and head to the stairs to go up a few floors. You figure if you can catch the elevator from there, you hopefully have a slightly better chance of avoiding anyone from the team. 

Success. 

A few minutes later, you find Ali's room and shake your head, still in disbelief. You take out the key she gave you and slide it into the door. As the door creaks open slowly, you hear a squeal and see this flash of brown hair coming straight at you, jumping in your arms. You immediately throw your arms under her thighs as she wraps her arms around your neck. 

"Oh, Alex. I'm so happy", you mumble into her neck. She pulls back slightly while she tightens her legs around your waist, "me too baby" as she moves her lips to yours. This kiss could set a freezer on fire. You turn your body and press her into the nearest wall, thrusting your tongue deep into her mouth as she moans and fists your hair from the aggressive dominance you are full on displaying. You both are struggling for air but it's not until you feel like you are going to pass out from the lack of oxygen that you move your lips off of hers and down to her neck. You can't stop yourself from sucking and biting on her pulse point. You know you are leaving a mark and don't really care and either does Ali. She moves her neck over to the side, exposing herself for you to continue, hands moving to the back of your head to hold it in place, soft moans filling the room. At this point, you aren't even sure how your legs are still holding you both upright because the endorphins cursing through your body have left you completely numb. 

You move your mouth off her neck and start to back her off the wall. She moves her head so she can look you in the eyes. Her eyes, pitch black from lust, but still managing to breath out to you, "you happy you finally got to do that?"

Your eyes matching hers in color and desire, a large smile coming to your face, "you have no fucking idea. Not sure you were complaining at all." A smile coming to her face as you walk over to the bed, her legs still around your body. You lay her down on the bed and start to pull back but she pulls you back down, moving her mouth to your ear, "I love when you get like that, I want you so bad."

You take her hands and pin them above her head before lowering yourself back on top of her, moving your thigh in between her legs to apply some pressure on her aching body. Instead of kissing her though, you move so just your lips are ghosting over hers. As she tries to lift up to capture them, you pull back slightly, so you are just out of reach. You hear her groan as she drops her head back down on the bed. This time you lean forward and lightly kiss on her neck but let the tip of your tongue gently touch her skin and trace up her neck from her collarbone, over her chin and onto her bottom lip. She is squirming under you, moaning your name, squeezing your hands tightly. You pull back and wait for her to open her eyes, once you capture her gaze you dive down and give her what she wants while pushing your thigh deeply into her. As you move to swipe your tongue through her parted lips, you let go of her hands. She immediately grabs the back of your shirt with both hands, fisting the material. If it wasn't a sweatshirt you are pretty sure she would have ripped a thinner material completely off your back.

After a few minutes of deeply intense kissing, you feel her wrap her arms around your neck while shifting her lower body. You lift slightly so she can adjust herself so that both of your legs are now between her spread thighs. You love when she has you two like this. Your mind easily think about things you would love to do her like this. In a very quick move, she wraps both of her legs around yours and rolls you over on your back while she now straddles you. 

"You aren't the only one that gets to tease"

You throw your head back, eyes rolling back into your head. Your hands grip around her waist while she lowers her body down on top of yours. She nibbles on your ear lobe before moving to interlace both of your hands with hers. Once she has you completely covered and restrained, she whispers in your ear, "when we get back, I want us to get something for you to fuck me with, just like how you were on top of me." You can't contain yourself and moan loudly, nails digging into her skin. It's like she read your mind. 

If it couldn't get better, she lifts off your hands and moves back up so she is looking down at you. Your large hands move to her thighs, covering them almost completely as she takes her hands and pulls off her sweater and takes her bra off, throwing them across the room. She takes your hands and puts them on her breasts, telling you, "and then I'll flip you over so you can watch yourself fucking me, like this." 

Your brow furrows, you honestly wouldn't be shocked if you just came from her words and from imagining all this play out, but all you can do is squeeze her breasts hard as you lean up, moving one hand up to the back of her neck, grabbing the back of her head and pushing your tongue into your mouth. This time it's her that takes on the dominant role by all but pushing your tongue back in your mouth with hers. Needing air, she pulls back as you move your other hand around to her ass, squeezing it, finally finding your words. 

"You know I'm going to make you cum over and over again when I'm fucking you, right? When I'm fucking you on your back, on your knees, on your stomach, all spread so wide open for me."

You can feel her hands reaching the bottom of your sweatshirt, attempting to pull it off. "I need to feel you", she pants out. She starts to lift the sweatshirt off and stops. "Um, what's this?", she asks in a teasing tone. A large grin comes to your face as you glance down at the Penn State sweatshirt you had thrown on quickly in your room. Shrugging your shoulders, "I don't know, I figure maybe the rightful owner of this sweatshirt might need it back and she'd want to take it off me."

A smirk starts to grow on her face as she moves to continue what she had originally started. You move your arms off of her and lift them up in the air. She manages to pull your two layers off as well as your sports bra in one motion. 

You watch her eyes drop to your body, taking it all in while she subconsciously licks her lips. Her eyes come back to meet yours, a devilish but shy smile coming to her face as she all but pushes you back down with a hand on your chest. She puts each hand on the bed, even with your ears. As she leans over, you feel the tips of her nipples drag against your body, making your body involuntarily thrust up into her. You barely have a chance to register the sensation before you feel her mouth cover your entire right nipple, tongue slowly swirling around your already erect nipple. Your barely there nails, digging into her back as you drag them from her shoulders to her waist. You feel her teeth lightly capture you, before lifting up, eyes focused on yours, before mirroring all of the same actions on your left side. 

You are in a dreamlike state by this point, it's like an out of body experience. You are so over-stimulated, turned on, completely enamored by this brunette who has flipped your world upside down. You are pulled out of your head when you feel her lift up, moving to your side while running her index finger down from your sternum to the top of your joggers. 

"These need to go, all of it"

Not wasting any time, you lean down and rip off your pants and boxers, realizing you still have your shoes on. As you are fumbling with everything, you hear her lightly chuckle at you as she stands to get undressed herself. You look at her, smile coming to your face, "it's your fault I'm so flustered."

"Mmhmm, sure babe." 

You finally free yourself and lay back on the bed, watching her take one leg out of her jeans. She looks back at you before mumbling out, "spread your legs for me, I want to see if I got you wet." 

This time it's you that laughs, "trust me, I'm pretty sure I'm like Niagara Falls at this point." She giggles at your comment before moving to the edge of the bed, taking your feet and spreading them open. You watch as she just stands there in a thong and nothing else, staring directly at your core. 

"Touch yourself while I finish getting undressed" 

You moan loudly, keeping eye contact with her as you slowly move your right hand over your hip, and down to your center. You drag your fingers through your wetness, pulling them through to your clit. She obviously can't contain herself as she is already crawling on the bed toward you in seconds. You hold your fingers out for her to taste you, but as she has hands on both of your thighs, she dips down with her tongue and takes you in her mouth. Your back arches while you yell out, "fuck", you definitely weren't expecting that. 

That's all though, one swipe of her tongue, as she continues moving up your body, straddling you again. You can feel her wetness on you, making you breath out with a small whine. You go to move your hand around to touch her but as you get close, she takes it and puts in on your stomach, as she shakes her head at you. 

She lifts up slightly, taking her own fingers and dragging them through her wetness before lowering herself back down you. This time though, she leans forward and puts her fingers into your mouth. You close your eyes as your mouth closes around her two, wet fingers that are almost at the back of your tongue. You both moan as she slowly pulls them out as she grinds on your stomach. 

Her fingers are barely out of your mouth before she has leaned down on top of you, kissing you hard to taste herself. Just as you are looking to deepen it even more, she lifts back off of you, back into in a sitting position. 

She lifts up slightly, telling you, "put your fingers inside of yourself." You can't say no to this woman, she has you completely under her spell. As you are moving to do as she told you, neither of your eyes having left the others, you watch her do the same to herself as she has you doing. You watch her slowly take all of herself in, you mirroring her actions. At this point, you are starting to feel lightheaded. You are pretty sure if you don't cum soon, you are going to pass out. 

You watch her pull out of herself, her hand moving behind her, grabbing and pulling your hand out of yourself. She pulls up and slowly rotates your hand and centers it directly below her. As she releases you, she reaches around behind her and as she lowers down onto your fingers, she enters you with hers. 

Both of you close your eyes, loud moans filling the room. You can feel her stroking you at the same rhythm as she is dropping into your fingers. You move your free hand to her waist. You know you aren't going to last long and you bet, she isn't either. She moves her free hand to your stomach, feeling your abs contracting with every thrust and dip. 

"I needed to have some of you inside me today and now I need you to cum with me"

All you are able to do at this point is pant out your breath, eyes furrowed, taking in every sensation. You can no longer form words as you feel her picking up the pace, knowing this amazing moment will be ending within seconds. You shift your hand slightly so your thumb can brush along her clit. She takes your lead and does the same as she starts moving a bit more uncontrolled. 

"I am…about…to…" she pants out, eyes closed. 

"Open your eyes" you manage to get out. 

You both move to curl your fingers inside each other and feel the other tighten around them. The silence in the room is replaced with expletives, declarations, and promises. 

You feel her fingers still inside of you as she completely sinks down on yours. She takes her free hand and runs it through her hair. She moves to lift off of you as she slowly pulls her fingers out of you. The icing on the cake is when she moves her fingers, that had just been buried deep in you, and sinks down on them, closing her eyes. You follow her lead, moving your fingers back into yourself. You close your eyes as well, knowing how intimate this all is. 

After a few moments, you feel her lift off of you so she is now laying on her side, her leg lazily laid over yours, stroking your tattooed arm. Your eyes meet hers, pure adoration, love, and trust. 

"I know you can't physically make a baby with me, but after what you shared earlier, there was nothing more intimate I wanted to feel and share than you doing that with me today."

All you can feel is your heart pounding out of your chest. Your eyes searching her face for any sign of regret of saying that to her, but you find none. You move your left hand over to cup her face, slowly rolling on your side so you can kiss her. For the first time since you have been in her room, you kiss her slow, with meaning and purpose. You eventually roll so your entire body is covering hers, both of you enjoying the tenderness of the moment but also appreciating the weight of the words shared today. 

You pull back slightly so your eyes can meet, tucking some of her hair behind her ear. In this moment, you've never felt so much for any one human being, blood related or not. It's now when you know this is it for you and fuck normal timelines, what is right, and playing by the rules. You say the only thing that feels right in this moment, in your body, and in your heart.

"I love you, Alex"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so, yeah. that happened. what do you think?
> 
> hope everyone had a good thanksgiving, hook me up with some thanks in the comments section. lol :)


	29. President of the Ashlyn Harris Fan Club

\---- Ali

As she lays on her side, slowly stroking Ashlyn's arm, she tries to find the words to express what the blonde means to her and not scare her off in the process. She hopes she conveyed through her actions just what an impact Ashlyn's words had on her while sitting in the park. 

Unable to keep her thoughts to herself, she tells Ashlyn, "I know you can't physically make a baby with me, but after what you shared earlier, there was nothing more intimate I wanted to feel and share than you doing that with me today."

It's quiet after Ali shares the deepest thoughts running through her mind, their eyes locked on to one another. She feels the warm touch of her girlfriend on her cheek followed by her lips. The kiss starts slow and it's like she can feel her response to what she just told her and the experience just shared between the two. As the kiss continues, Ashlyn's tongue slowly dancing around hers as the blonde moves to cover her with her body. 

She feels Ashlyn pull back slightly, her eyes coming back into focus. Ali just stares back in awe of this beautiful woman she can call her own. She feels finger tips lightly tucking her hair back, behind her ear. She wishes she could read Ashlyn's mind right now, even though it feels like she is just radiating her feelings through her gaze. 

It takes about ten seconds for her brain to process what was just said to her. "I love you, Alex." Her body obviously reacted to it before she could process it as her eyes are starting to become watery. Ashlyn just professed that she loved her and it was the four most meaningful, beautiful, life changing words her ears have ever heard. Ali knows how hard it is for Ashlyn to say, seeing how she has told her in the past that is the case. She's never felt or expressed love before to anyone, yet she just bared everything to her today. She feels like the luckiest person in the world and hopes she can live up to deserving it, every day, forever. 

Ali's eyes can no longer keep in the tears, as one rolls out of each eye, down her face. She feels Ashlyn's thumb wipe away the one from the right side and then from left. She can see the way Ashlyn is looking at her, a good indication that this was not the reaction she was expecting. The brunette is finally able to find her words as she reaches up to cup Ashlyn's right cheek, a smile slowly coming to Ali's face before whispering out,

"I love you, too"

Ashlyn's dimpled smile starts to appear as she leans in to place a soft, gentle kiss on her lips that slowly turns into deep exploration of her mouth. After what feels like an eternity, both of their hearts beating furiously, Ashlyn pulls back to look into Ali's eyes, but they are still closed. She can feel the brunette's hands running through the hair at the back of her neck. Ali isn't sure if she is trying to catch her breath from the oxygen depriving kiss they just shared or from hearing and saying those words for the first time to the love of her life. After a brief pause, she finally finds her words again. 

"I don't care that it's so soon, Ash. I don't want to waste time not sharing what I am feeling for you. I want you to always know how much I care about you, especially when your gone. If I can say that to you when we are apart and we are both feeling lonely, I hope we can think of this moment and remember the pure love we have for each other. I can't even wait to watch our love and relationship grow over time."

She watches how Ashlyn slowly moves off the top of her and back to her side, interlacing their fingers over her stomach. She doesn't think the blondes eyes have left hers for the last five minutes as she watches Ashlyn prop herself up on her free elbow. 

"Alex, you always say the things I'm thinking", she chuckles while a larger smile comes to her face before continuing. "It's going to be a tough year and yeah, some of the trips we have will be together, but it's not like we can be how we are right now. I always want to make you proud when I'm on the pitch and I can't wait to get out there tomorrow night surrounded by your love, you in the stands cheering me on. God, that makes me so happy."

Ali leans over and gives her a chaste kiss. "I can't wait to cheer so loud for you. Everyone will wonder who the President of the Ashlyn Harris fan club is", crinkling her face into large smile and laugh. Ashlyn just shakes her head, "oh my, we are unleashing a monster."

After setting their phones to make sure Ashlyn has enough time to shower and change to get to dinner on time, they move up and under the covers and fall asleep for a quick nap, completely tangled in each other's arms. 

\---- Ash

The completely jarring samba music blaring from the phone on the nightstand breaks you out of your peaceful slumber. You roll backwards to hit snooze before rolling over and curling back around Ali's naked body. It's the first time you've slept that hard since you got to Europe and you are pretty sure you know the reason why. You just lay there taking in the scent of her hair and her body. She's got to be jet lagged as she is still completely out of it. You start rubbing your thumb in circles over her tight stomach to slowly try to wake her. Her body starts to shift some but all she really does is push back into more. This is going to be harder than you thought to leave. 

"Hey baby", you whisper out. "You should probably wake up so you can sleep tonight." 

"Don't want to", quietly spoken in front of you as she rolls over on her back, slowly opening her eyes to look at you. 

"There she is", you mumble while giving her a soft kiss, hand still rested on her stomach. "I'm gonna jump in the shower here quickly and then head back downstairs."

She just groans and turns to nestled her head in your neck.

"Don't want you to leave. So soft and cuddly", you manage to make out as she completely mumbled into your neck. 

"Who you calling soft, woman? Guess I need to start working out harder since your standards are obviously higher now."

You feel her smile and feel the vibration of her laughter. Man, you wish you could just blow off dinner and stay here all night. You rub her back and kiss her exposed shoulder. 

"I'll be back…unless you want to join me in there…" You let that hang out there for a sec. "No funny business, I kinda need to be back down there in like fifteen minutes. 

"Mmmkay. I can behave", she says as she rolls out of your embrace, sitting up while rubbing her face with two hands, trying really hard to wake up. Meanwhile, you are trying really hard to control your libido as the sheet had fallen around her waist when she sat up, baring her perfect breasts. Apparently the groan left your mouth as she turns to look at you, smirk in her eyes. "Tempting, isn't", she adds. You just shake your head at her while grabbing her and pulling her on top of you. 

You love how her body feels on yours. You have never felt a body fit yours so perfectly. You lift your head up to give her a little kiss and just hold her in a tight embrace, knowing this is probably the last time your naked bodies will be pressed together, for at least the next couple of days. 

You are brought out of your head by her soft voice, "I love you, baby. God it feels good to say that to you." Your smile grows as it feels like hot lava was just poured into your veins, your face flush with heat. 

"It feels good to hear it but really, truly feel it too. I think I've always felt how much you cared about me, to be honest.", you shrug your shoulders slightly. "I don't know, the past few days, I questioned it all and obviously messed me up."

You hear hear laugh for a second, before she explains, "yeah, babe, that was all you, I definitely wasn't feeling anything this past month." 

All you can think of doing is giving her a light smack on her ass, appropriate for her being a smart ass. "That's all I gotta say about that, Ms. Krieger." 

This time, you don't hear a laugh, but you feel a kiss as she starts backing out of your arms. "For only having fifteen minutes, you sure aren't moving very fast", Ali says with a raised eyebrow. 

You start to get out of bed and pull the covers all the way down to the bottom of the bed, your final attempt of having the last word. The problem is, you look down and you see her hand slowly starting to go lower and lower on her body, looking up at you, biting her lower lip. That's when you know, you will never have the last word with her. 

\--- Ali

Twenty minutes later, they both get out of the shower a little less frustrated than how they got in. She watches Ashlyn put her joggers and t-shirt back on but she's left the Penn State sweatshirt on the bed. 

"um, aren't you forgetting something?", Ali asks picking it up and holding it out to her. 

"Nope. It needs a refresh of that Alex scent I love so much."

"Is that so?", she takes it and puts it on her completely bare torso. "so I should just wear it like this for awhile and then you'll want it back?"

Ashlyn closes the space and wraps her hands around Ali's waist, tucking into the bare skin under the sweatshirt. "I mean, if you insist, I can take it off you…"

She just swats her hands away as Ashlyn was starting to pull it up to take off. "You need to leave, I'm not getting in trouble for you being late, that's all we need."

"I'd say don't get your panties in a bunch, but seeing how you aren't wearing any…", Ashlyn sasses back before being truthful, "when I said I had fifteen minutes, I really had an hour. I just knew we would be running way late if I waited until we truly fifteen minutes left, which we do now." 

Ali just rolls her eyes, "first off, how are you that insatiable right now as you are running off to meet your team for dinner? We literally just had sex, again, ten minutes ago in the shower and you can barely keep it in your pants now." She can't really even say that with a straight face since she knows if Ashlyn didn't have to be anywhere right now, they would have laid in bed, satisfying each other until the sun came up tomorrow. They both are feeling completely loved and undersexed at the moment, which isn't helping Ashlyn move out the door any faster. 

Ashlyn just wraps her arms around her again and pulls her in tight before she asks, "you want me to come back up later?"

"If you want, but I don't really want to take away your time from the team. I'm probably going to be tired tonight so why don't you just hang with the girls and we can catch up tomorrow at some point."

Ashlyn just starts to pout, "but you are here now, it will be torrrtuuurrrre."

"Hey", she says as she makes sure she has the blondes full attention. "I didn't come here to be a distraction, okay and it will be suspicious if you are never around. We can still text and see each other, but I just don't want you not hanging out with your friends because you'd rather be hanging out with me. I see you all the time, these guys don't."

She leans down and kisses the top her forehead, "I know", she says sighing. "I just would much rather cuddle with you than anyone else." 

This time, she can't help herself and throws her head back in laughter, "good to know I'm winning in that category."

The both of you just smile at each other, missing your playful banter over the last week. Honestly, she is just so happy to hear Ashlyn happy again and the look in her eyes is something else. She feels like she gave her some oxygen to breath again. 

"Alright, you really have to go now, give me kiss before you leave."

Ashlyn moves both hands up to cup her face and leans in with her soft lips. All Ali wants to do is kiss her the only way she can think of to end this monumental day in their relationship. Apparently, Ashlyn has the same thought. 

As Ashlyn pulls back from toe curling kiss, she looks deep in her eyes, a large, dimpled smile coming to her face, "I love you and I'll never get tired of the butterflies I get when I think about how much I do." 

She isn't sure how she got so lucky to find Ashlyn when she did, with all the obstacles and hardships thrown her way, she never thought a love like this was in the cards for her. But here she stands, 3,600 miles away from home, where one dream eluded her, now another is within reach.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well, well, look who got a short chapter out. I'll work on getting the next few up in a timely matter (aka, I have no idea when). :) 
> 
> Maybe after this Europe trip for the team concludes, I'll work on another chapter of A&D for the folks that like that one. 
> 
> Enjoy, as always, I love comments so hit me with your best shot.


	30. No ifs, ands, or buts

\---- Ash

A few more kisses and Ali all but throws you out of her room. You have to figure out how to wipe this shit eating grin off your face in ten floors before you get around the team. You decide to take the stairs as it will afford you a little more time to do so and you need to run by your room anyways to grab your notebook for tonight's meeting after dinner. Fingers crossed you can see HAO before you get around the team. 

Sliding the key into door and opening it, this time though, the lights are on and you can hear movement about. 

"Hey! Where did you scamper off to?", HAO asks while grabbing a sweatshirt out of her bag. 

"Oh you know, just went and wandered around that park across the street, picked up a girl and went back to her room", you casually throw out as you walk across the room to your backpack, shrugging your shoulders at the last part of the sentence.

"What the fuck, dude? Seriously?!", her tone quickly going from shock to pissed, "that's fucked up. This puts me in a weird position and you know, I can't keep this from her."

You lean back on the dresser and cross your arms, half feeling bad for riling her up like this, but on the other side, you are kinda enjoying it. 

"oh c'mon, really?! You wouldn't sell me out like that would you?" Her face getting redder by the minute so you decide to help her out. "I mean if you have too, you might as well go tell her", you throw the key to her room on her bed, "she's in 2008." A massive smile coming across your face as you see hers bunch up in confusion.

"wait, what? So there is no girl, or the girl is Ali? I'm so confused. She's here?", pointing to the floor while she is trying to comprehend what she just said. 

You just nod your head up and down really quickly, your eyes growing as wide as your smile. 

"so, wait, Ali flew over here to surprise you or did you know she was coming?", Heather sits on the bed for this one, since she is still so confused about what is happening.

Mirroring her position on your bed, you run through the abbreviated version of things, how she surprised you in the park and for the last few hours, had just been 'hanging out' with her, definitely leaving out the 'I love you" that was shared and definitely any mention of a baby. 

Heather chuckles, "yeah, I'm sure you were just 'hanging out'. That's why it looks like you got out a shower about ten minutes ago."

Shaking your head, you laugh back and mumble out, "yeah, maybe, whatever."

"Well, whatever happened, it worked a miracle on you cause you are back to happy Ashlyn that I was with the first day. You know how much I hate when you are down, but I'll always be there for you. I'm glad you know that and let me in."

You stand up and open your arms out to give her a hug. She stands and steps into your embrace before patting your back and moving back to what she was doing. As you grabbing your notebook, you break the silence by telling her, "I think you should go up and surprise her after our meeting tonight. I'm sure she would love to see you and she all but banned me from hanging out with her again tonight."

"That bad in bed and she still keeps you around? I thought you would be better than that…", Heather barely gets out with a straight face. 

"You are such an ass", shaking your head. "Not to brag but, she did fly over here to see me so I must be doing something right.", ending with a little wink.

"TOO MUCH!", she says, covering her ears. "Maybe I will head up and see her. It would be good to catch up since this all happened", waving her hand in your general direction. 

As you two are leaving the room, you feel you should mention Ali's biggest fear. "She's a little freaked out and didn’t think about it till after the fact, but she still isn't keen on the rest of the team knowing about us, except for you and Whit. Just wanted to throw that out there so you didn't bring up at the table or anything."

"yeah, no worries, I won't say anything. Have you told Whitney yet?"

"Nope, you were my first stop."

\------ Ali

Knowing that the team dinner and meeting started at 6pm, she gave an extra ten minutes to ensure she wouldn't run into any stragglers. She heads downstairs to ask the concierge about a good place for dinner that is relatively close by. They recommend a pub about two blocks away that has decent food along with the pint or two she will be chasing it down with. 

After finishing her meal, catching up on emails, and taking care of any work things that may have popped up, she pulls out her headphones to FaceTime with Kyle since it's only mid-afternoon back in DC. 

As she sips on her second pint and waits for Kyle to pick up, she thinks how this was not how she had planned her Thursday. Luckily, her remotes for the week are usually on Wednesday, unless there is a big match happening, which thankfully this week, there are not. 

When the ringing stops, she hears Kyle's voice before she sees him.

"This better be important since you are disturbing Luna and my beauty sleep."

The screen pops on and she can clearly see him lying in bed with Luna on the pillow next to him. 

"Awe, she is so adorable. Please let me pet sit her next time you leave so I can cuddle her in bed."

"Hmmm, last time I checked, that spot was taken… or are you drinking away the rejection.", definitely seeing how she is in a bar. 

She just rolls her eyes at him with a slight shake of her head. "I have a big bed, we can all fit. Plus, it's not like she is living with me."

"Yet, my sister, yet. I waiting for that phone call, in what, like a week?"

"Ugh, staahppp!", she says, starting to giggle. It's not like the thought hasn't crossed her mind, way more times than it should already. 

Now that he is a little more awake, he is ready to start drilling her about the surprise. "Since you are still there, I'm assuming your 'shock and awe' surprise went well?"

A slow smile comes to her face, "definitely shock, followed by a lot of awes."

"ALEX!", he says with wide eyes, "so I guess that's why you look so happy. I want to hear everything, well, almost everything."

Giving him the cliff notes version of the park, basically telling him, "we both said we were falling in love with each other, she said she pictured us as a family, me pregnant and all with our baby, and we both said I love you for the first time."

When she got that out, the screen just went black and she heard a squeal coming through her headphones. A squeal loud enough she had to dramatically turn down the volume. When she thinks he is done, she clicks the phone a few times to get the volume back at a level to hear over the background noise in the sparsely populated pub. She sees the phone being jostled around and realize he must have just slammed it down in the bed after she said all that. 

"Oh! My! God! Literally, that is all I can say after that. You can't just say ALL of that and LEAVE it. Jesus. When's the fucking wedding? Here you were giving me shit for saying she was moving in..." All his excitement has woken up Luna and she is now covering his face with kisses.

"Thank you Luna for shutting him up. Promise to give you lots of treats when I'm back"

After wrestling her back over on her side so she would go back to sleep, he picks the phone back up to continue where they let off. 

"So how exactly does talking about having a baby come up within 6 hours of you having landed?"

She sighs, diving into the back story "Back in DC, we were laying together on the couch and after waking up from a nap, Ashlyn was just looking at me so lovingly. I asked what she was thinking about but she never really said. You know, come to think of it, it was earlier in the day from when we went out to dinner and the club after with you." 

He rolls his eyes mumbling out, "well, she was obviously trying to make one with ya in that bathroom that night…"

Instead of getting mad at his comment, her mind drifts back to that day and how attentive Ashlyn was to her all day, and of course the fucking bathroom… or was it more like in the bathroom fucking, that was currently replaying through her mind.

"Alex! That's gross. I know you are thinking about it!"

She giggles, "Sorry! It was fucking hot", she mumbles under her breath, a smirk coming to her face as she shrugs her shoulders. 

"Anyway! How do you feel about all of that? I mean, you told her you love her too, I'm assuming? As well as talking about babies? I remember when you were first talking to me about her when you got back to DC, you had thought the same thing…"

She sighs and bites lightly on her bottom lip, shifting her eyes to her beer in front of her. When she looks back at her phone, he can tell her eyes have watered up and she is trying her best not to cry. She shakes her head, trying to will the tears to stay in as her mind processes her true feelings on this. Either way, definitely not a conversation she thought she would be having in a pub. 

"How do I feel about it? Honestly? Scared, excited, nervous, happy. Kyle, she makes me SO happy, it's indescribable. Not that I'm comparing the two, but I guess I am kind of, cause I don't know how else to explain it, but obviously, you and me are family, but we have this bond that is unbreakable, not just because we are family, but because we truly care for each other. I'm pretty sure if we weren't related, you would still be one of my best friends. You are like my platonic soul mate, when we aren't together we hate it. I don't know, does this make any sense?"

She pauses as he nods, "yeah, I think I'm following…"

She takes a deep breath, "that's how I feel with her, but remove the platonic part, obliviously. I feel like she was made specifically for me and it throws me for a loop. I have done a lot of thinking this last week while we were apart, it really did feel like the other half of me was missing. The more time I spend with her, the deeper I fall down this vortex we have created. The thing is though, I don't ever want to leave it. Seriously, I think if I could spend every waking minute with her, I would still want one minute more. I never thought I would find anything remotely close to this. I thought what I had with Kate was the best I was ever gonna get. Now when I look back at that relationship, it's like it was child's play. If this is what love is and feels like, what we had, wasn't even in the same ball park to what I have felt almost instantly with her. I don't know why I thought we could take this slow. I am so fucking into her, Kyle. If she asked me to marry her tomorrow and be pregnant the day after, I wouldn't even bat an eyelash. This is who I want to spend the rest of my life with, no ifs, ands, or buts. And you know what, if something does happen to us down the road, I do not want any regrets. Too much shit has happened to me not to just do what is right and what makes me happy. 

After she takes a breath for the first time in what feels like forever, she focuses back on his face and can see he has a few tears that have streaked down his face. She feels slightly embarrassed about going on and on and wonders by comparing the two relationships if she offended him in some matter.

"Ky?"

He lets out a deep breath and wipes his eyes with his free hand, "give a girl some warning when you are reading her the love letter of your life", lightly chuckling to break the mood, "that was like the movie trailer for Star Wars, all that warp speed shit happening." A small smile comes to her face while she waits for him to continue. 

"I'm never going to tell you know not to do something", he mumbles, "well, maybe sometimes when you make shitty clothing choices." They both giggle at that comment before he starts back on his train of thought, "I have always wanted you to follow your heart, Alex, and I'll be right beside you to cheer you on and support you on this journey with her. Also know, that I'll be there if you have tough days and just need to yell and scream at someone about her, or to cry and eat ice cream with when she is on the road. I'm your biggest fan, bb. I always have been. I just want you to be happy."

The water works have started as she tries to wipe them away before there is a puddle around her beer. 

"Alex, whenever you do make that next step, which, let's be honest, probably will be sooner than later, I'll be there too. I know you will be the best wife Ashlyn could ever dream of and the best fucking mom on the planet." After a slight pause, he continues, "It's too bad you can't have a baby together, that would be a cute fucking kid."

A smile comes on her face, "UGH, I know, right?!"

"Anyways, you know what's best for you two, so just let me know the best way to third wheel and I will."

They both let out a deep breath, knowing that they just probably had one of the most epic heart to hearts they have ever had. 

"I love you so much Kyle. I'll always need you and she knows, we are a package deal", smiling at the end. "and maybe, my heart skipped a beat when you said I would be a good wife to her and mom to our kids. I am so out of control!", burning face in her free hand. 

"That you are Queen and I love every fucking second of it." 

After ending the conversation with what Kyle has coming up for the weekend, she was finishing her second beer when she got a text from Ashlyn saying they were headed into their meeting for the next hour or so. She figures this is as good of a time as any to settle her bill and start making her way back to the hotel, especially while the team is sequestered away. Once back in the room, she settles in by taking out the clothes she had packed to hang up so they wouldn't wrinkle. She's really only here for a few days, till Sunday, with Ashlyn coming home on the following Tuesday. She's got something up her sleeve for Saturday since she is hoping Ashlyn won't have any trainings or meetings since it's the day after the game. 

Finally having a chance to shower, she settles in to watch some tv, attempting to get her body to adjust to the five hour time change. Her phone dings and she notices it's a text from Ashlyn.

_Ashlyn: hey baby. We just got done with our meeting and I'm heading back to the room. Am I still banned from seeing you?_

God it kills her to not be selfish right now.

 _Ali: ha. You aren't banned, I just want you to hang with your friends, pretend I'm not even here._

_Ashlyn: Should I also pretend that I had the hottest sex of my life this afternoon in the team hotel with a stranger?_

_Ali: Hopefully a stranger can't get you off like I can. If so, I have my work cut out for me._

_Ashlyn: haha. Trust me, you are the best I've ever had and will ever have._

_Ali: I better be the only one you will ever have again…_  


_Ashlyn: Always, my love :)_

She gets a massive smile on her face. 

_Ali: I can definitely get used to seeing that, but can't wait to hear it again_. 

_Ashlyn: funny, I do know a way for that to happen._

_Ali: nice try. Not working._

_Ashlyn: A for effort_

_Ali: always an A._

_Ashlyn: Fine, I'll let you go. I think we are all going in Pinoe's room to watch one of her movies. I'll have my phone with me if you change your mind. Curfew is at 11…_

_Ali: I'll keep that in mind._

After a few seconds pass

_Ali: Hey Ash?_

_Ashlyn: yeah, babe?_

_Ali: I love you._

_Ashlyn: I think I almost floated away from all the butterflies that just took over my body._

_Ashlyn: God, I love you, Alex._

A minute or two passes… 

_Ashlyn: Hey Al? <_/p>

_Ali: yessss…._

_Ashlyn: just want to thank you for taking a chance with me. I'll spend the rest of my life thanking you for that and hope I can make you half as happy as you make me._

As she reads the text, and then reads it again, a tear rolls down her right cheek. It makes her think back to what she told Kyle. 

_Ali: I can't wait to spend the rest of my life with you, so you better start practicing._

A few minutes later there is a knock at the door. She groans getting up, rolling her eyes at the fact Ashlyn couldn't stay away. Before the door is even open, she's giving the blonde a hard time.

"ASHLYN! You need to hang out with the …"

She stands there with the door open, losing her thought, not expecting who is standing in front of her.

"Heather?"

"I know, I know, not what you were expecting and I'm NOT standing in for her, so don't get any crazy ideas."

Ali just throws her head back in laughter, snorting when trying to get it under control. "Oh my god, come here!", as she pulls her into the room through a hug. "Shouldn't you be in Pinoe's room watching a movie?"

"They are watching some artsy documentary thing and anyways, I'd much rather hang with you for bit, if that's cool?"

"Yeah, of course. I just threw sweats on after my shower and was watching tv to wind down."

"Is everything ok? Your eyes look a little bloodshot… "

She shakes her head, "no, no. This is the product of Ash. The woman has a way with words, what can I say."

"Are we talking about the same Harris?", giving her the side eye, "I'm just kidding. I still can't believe you guys are together, that was so fast!"

She laughs, "you are telling me, sister. Definitely was blindsided by her, but it's the most natural thing after breathing for me."

"Well, from what I have seen and heard this past week, you aren't not the only one that thinks that."

Heather goes to the sit on the bed but stops right before her butt touches. "Actually, I think I'll sit in this chair. I don't think I want to sit on this sex pit."

"Oh my god! What did she say?!"

"Relax, Al. She didn't have to say a word. She basically did a 180 from when we got here this afternoon to when she walked in the room before dinner."

Ali smiles for a second before asking Heather a question she has been dying to know. 

"Can I ask how bad it was? You don't have to tell me since I know she trusts you to show that side of herself to."

"I'm sure it's fine… but seriously, I haven't seen her that depressed and despondent in awhile. I think she was getting better, but she was just sad. I honestly think that's all it was. It's a fairly new feeling of missing someone so much so I'm assuming she just wasn't sure how to deal with it."

She just nods listening to Heather's thoughts about it all before speaking up again. "Do you think I should have let her have her space and not come here? I really was just so worried about her after the last few days. She just didn't seem like herself and after the game, her eyes, they were just so hollow.", shrugging her shoulders while she picks at her nails. 

"Al, if you could see the girl I saw come in our room before dinner, you would know that you 100% made the right decision. She's on cloud nine right now."

That makes her smile. She helps steer the conversation to what has been going on with her and Dave, sprinkled in with little bits of her Ashlyn's story since last camp. Ali has made sure to keep it fairly PG since she isn't sure what Ashlyn has told her, and besides her brother, the most important parts she wants to keep between the two of them. Before she knows it, it's been almost an hour and a half since HAO came up. She notices her look at her phone, telling her it's a little pass 10:30pm so she should head back down. 

"It was really great to catch up, I'm glad you surprised me"

"Yeah, me too. You coming to the game tomorrow night?"

"Well, I didn't come all this way to follow it online", flipping her hair over her shoulder with that sass. 

HAO just shakes her head and mumbles, "same ol' Kriegs"

They both stand up and walk to the door, embracing in an friendly hug. As you are finishing your last goodbyes, Heather asks, "so should I send her up to say goodnight? She's fairly convinced you banished her from the twentieth floor."

You just laugh and shake your head, "she's such a drama queen. Tell her the ban has been lifted for ten minutes."

This time it's Heather shaking her head as she walks away, "this is going to be trouble, I can feel it already."

\----- Ash

You just got back from Pinoe's room and notice Heather isn't back yet. It's killing you that you two are in the same hotel and you can't be curled up in her side. "I guess this is just good practice for Canada", you mumble to yourself. About thirty seconds later, you hear the lock click and the door to the room open. Speak of the devil. 

"Alright, Ash. Your ban has been lifted for the next ten minutes. You better hurry your ass up there so your back by curfew.'

You stare back at her, trying to figure out if she said what you think she just said. You don't second guess it though, you literally are on your feet in about two seconds, grabbing your room key as well as hers. "Thanks HAO, you are the best!", she shouts as she is walking out the door. 

Taking the stairs, two at a time, you realize ten flights of stairs is a lot more than you think. As you get to the door of the twentieth floor, inside the stairwell, you rest your hands on your knees while you try to gain some composure, "shit", you mumble to herself, while wiping your lower back with your hand, removing the sweat.

After a minute or two, your heart beat and breathing have both regained their normal levels. You go to her door and debate knocking, but decide not too… you have a key! You slide the key in and slowly open the door. You hear the tv at a low volume and then you are able to see her. She is nestled down in the covers, all the lights off except for the glow of the tv. You curse that you have to be back in your room in like twenty minutes. As you move out of the hallway, you see her eyes are closed. You stop dead in your tracks and just watch her sleep for a few minutes. This is what you miss most about her. How peaceful she looks when she sleeps. You close the small gap and sit down on the bed next to her, back leaning on the headboard. You would give anything to lay down but you know yourself and you will be asleep and miss curfew. As you are sitting, she must have felt the mattress dip as she turns her head to the right and opens her eyes. 

"hey you. Sorry, I must have fallen asleep", she says as she is starting to sit up.

"hey baby. You don't have to sit up for me, stay tired and snuggled in. I just came to tell you goodnight and maybe tell you something else."

You feel her arm go around your waist as she looks up at you, wide eyed and waiting. 

Moving your hand to run through her hair, your eyes meeting hers, "I just wanted to tell you goodnight, and I love you, Ali Krieger. You always make me feel like the happiest person alive and today, I believe it."

She squeezes you tighter and this time, actually sits up so she is eye level with you. She grabs both of your hands, place a soft kiss on your lips. The next words out of her mouth make you wish you could stay in this moment forever. 

"Ashlyn Harris. I think you just might be the love of my life."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These two... man!
> 
> Let's see the game is next... how do we think it will go? (even though we all knows how it goes). 
> 
> Everyone still with me here?


	31. my journey is our journey

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> it's been so long, I'm assuming you might want to read the last chapter again since this one starts directly after.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok, where do I start. I was one of those... love em' then leave em', falling back on my promise not to abandon the story. I guess technically I didn't BUT, let's be honest, it's been three months. *rolling my own eyes*
> 
> I'm not going to make excuses because those are for losers. In those last three months, I have experienced the highest of highs followed by the lowest of lows. That being said, I really didn't have any motivation to write. I tried, I sat and stared at a half written story, time and time again, not really getting anywhere. Then one day, I was able to write a paragraph, and then a few weeks later, a little more. Needless to say, it's definitely not the best chapter I've put out, but I'm hoping by getting something out, it will motivate me to get back on the wagon. I miss the comments, I miss the praise, what can I say, I'm needy.
> 
> Last but not least, there must be something in the water here. While OperaGirl was off falling in love, someone else here did too. I fell hard and fast with a cute, sexy girl and pretty sure this feeling I have been feeling for the last three months is me walking on air. She helped me through the good times and the bad, only making us stronger in the end. She probably will never read this, but that's a good thing. She can't know that I can be a big softie. 
> 
> Anyway, enjoy the rambles and don't shame me too hard for my absence. 
> 
> P.S. I'll try to work on A&D as well...

\--- Ash

You look deep into her eyes after she just told you that YOU were the love of her life. You question every responsibility running through your head right now, most of all wanting to say "fuck curfew." But you can't and you know she won't let you. You feel like you do the only think you can at that moment. Lifting both of your hands up to cradle her face, you lean in and give her a soft kiss which she immediately deepens as she climbs over on your lap. Her hands running through your hair as yours drop to her waist. She pulls back, moving one hand over to your face, rubbing your cheek. 

"Sorry, if that's too much. Just after everything today, I don't know, I just wanted you to know how much you mean to me."

You lightly shake your head back and forth, "Alex, I feel like that same thought has been running through my mind lately. I honestly can't even fathom there being a more perfect person for me than you."

Her easy smile lights up your eyes as she places a light peck on your lips. When she pulls away, she looks at the clock and groans, "I wish you could stay with me tonight. We had this huge day in our relationship, not really how I planned, but I hate that I can't fall asleep in your arms."

"Me too, baby. I have about ten minutes before I need to head back down. Here, put your head in my lap and let's get you sleepy again. "

Ali gives you another chaste kiss and snuggles back down in the covers resting her head on your lap, her left arm thrown over your legs.

You start running your fingers slowly through her soft, brunette locks. You stare down lovingly and think how much your life has changed in the last month, hell, even the last twenty-four hours. Last night, you were miserable wanting nothing more than to be by her and now you sit here, reunited with this amazing woman, after both baring your souls today.

As you continue, you can feel her body get heavier and her breathing level out. It physically pains you that you have to leave her in a few minutes. You look down and see your future and your mind drifts off to tomorrow and her watching you from the stands. You can't wait to make her so proud, even if she can't show it. You make a mental note to get her a ticket and drop it off before you leave, not knowing if you will be able to spend anytime together in the morning. 

You look over at the time and realize you have to go. After a heavy sigh, you quietly and gently scoot out from under her head and quickly move a pillow over to take your place. You kneel down, beside the bed and place a soft kiss on her forehead, whispering "you mean more to me than you'll ever know. I love you so much."

\--- Ali

As she groggily turns her head to look at the clock, she realizes it's already nine am. Oh the joys of jetlag. She forces herself to wake up, grabbing her phone to help her ease into the morning. She has a few texts from Ashlyn, one of them telling her that they are leaving at one pm for the match and a second asking what she is up to for the day. 

_Ali: hey baby. I just woke up. Sorry I fell asleep last night while you were still here._

A few minutes pass before her phone lights up. 

_Ashlyn: Good morning, beautiful. I'm glad you had a good nights sleep. No apologies, I enjoyed just being near you. I would have given anything to stay the night._

_Ashlyn: What are you up to this morning? I know what you are doing later… :)_

_Ali: Oh really? You think I flew all the way over to watch my amazing girl play…_

She can't help but have the widest grin possible on her face, biting her bottom lip waiting the reply.

_Ashlyn: Your girl, eh? I like the sound of that._

_Ashlyn: Your girl is going to play her ass off tonight to make her girl proud. I mean, you gotta get your money's worth._

_Ali: that is true. I will ask for a reimbursement of all costs if any goals are let in._

_Ashlyn: JESUS WOMAN. Way to put the pressure on me._

_Ali: I know you can handle it._

_Ashlyn: Only if you cheer really loud for me._

_Ali: Already told you baby, I'm your biggest fan._

_Ashlyn: Oh, you can keep telling me… over and over again._

_Ali: I wish you could see me rolling my eyes at you._

_Ali: ANYWAY, I'm going to run and get coffee, maybe sit in the park for a few and enjoy this beautiful day. I figure I'll have to time my coming and goings today to not get caught. ;-)_

_Ashlyn: Sounds good, baby. I'll come up after the game. I doubt we will have a curfew and I'm pretty sure we will have tomorrow off._

_Ali: Good! I may or may not have something planned for us tomorrow…_

_Ashlyn: any hints?_

_Ali: nope._

_Ashlyn: figures._

_Ali: Good luck today baby. You got this._

_Ashlyn: Always._

Ali places her phone back on the nightstand, staring at the ceiling as a smile comes across her face and she lets out a small shriek, kicking her legs up and down under the covers. She can barley contain her excitement for the day, not even caring anymore she flew half way around the world to surprise her girlfriend. She realizes in this moment, she would do anything for Ashlyn. 

When Ali returns to her room from sitting in the park and enjoying her morning coffee, she notices something folded up on the end of the bed. As she gets closer, she sees it’s a jersey with an envelope on top. A smile starts to come to her face when she recognizes it as a black keeper jersey but decides to open the envelope first. In it, she finds a ticket to the match and a post it affixed to the front of it. 

_Alex-_

_It would mean the world to me if you wore this today._

_I love you._

_Ashlyn_

Ali lays the ticketing envelope down on the bed and moves to pick up the shirt. As she unfolds it and looks it over, she can tell its one of Ashlyn's actual kits based off the size off it and a small rip near the bottom. She turns it to look at the back, eyes tracing the letters "HARRIS" down to the number 24. Her heart flutters when her mind fast forwards to the thought of that being her last name in the future. She shakes her head as she takes her lower lip in between her teeth and tries to control the life size grin that is now plastered across her face. 

She turns it back over to look at the front of it and notices something written in the collar. She pulls it closer and sees in Ashlyn's handwriting , "my journey is our journey." Ali just stares at the writing as her body goes into auto pilot, turning and sitting on the bed. She pulls the jersey close to her chest, head lowering, tears threatening to fall, thinking of how her soccer journey ended but yet her brought her to Ashlyn and this moment, her new journey, their journey… 

She takes off her her sweater and throws the top on and stands up. As she looks in the mirror, it's easy to notice the height difference as well as body composition. The jersey is definitely tighter on her than it is on Ashlyn. She decides to chalk it up to the fact she has two layers on underneath and not that she is thicker and more solid. She can't explain away the fact that the bottom of the shirt falls below her ass, not hiding the sizable height difference between the two. Mentally she makes note to have it shortened when she gets back to DC, but for now, this will have to do. 

As she finishes doing her 360 degree turn in front of the floor length mirror, she starts giggling because she feels like a giddy high school girl that just got her boyfriend's letterman jacket to wear in the halls and to the football games on Friday nights. It's also at this point when she decides to say 'fuck it' about being seen with this on, at the game, or screaming her girlfriend's name when she makes an amazing save. She's proud to be the other half of Ashlyn Harris, the keeper fighting for the number one spot, the one that will be leading the team to the World Cup. 

She takes the jersey off and lays it out on the bed while she finishes getting ready for the match. She needs to leave in about an hour to give her enough time to catch a cab over to the stadium and for warm-ups. She jumps in the shower and finds herself daydreaming of all that has happened since the plane touched down barely twenty four hours ago, having shared their bodies and their love for each other. The smile on her face grows larger and motivates her to finish up so she can get one step closer to seeing her girl again. 

Once she is dressed, she takes a selfie and promptly sends it to Ashlyn. 

_Ali: so, what do you think?_

_Ashlyn: I think that's the best thing I've seen all day. Are you gonna to wear it?_

_Ali: duh. Of course, I am! I'm proud of you, baby._

_Ashlyn: you are amazing. I'll never get tired of hearing that._

_Ali: good thing because I may never stop saying it._

_Ashlyn: man, what did I do to deserve you?_

_Ali: you were yourself, which was the easiest person to fall in love with._

_Ashlyn: I love you._

_Ali: I love you too._

_Ashlyn: as much as I would love to continue you this, we are pulling into the stadium so I need to run. I'll see you soon?_

_Ali: you bet, baby. I'll be there soon._

_Ashlyn: can't wait. Especially, can't wait for later xx_

_Ali: get your head on straight, Harris. You have a game to win for me xx_

_Ashlyn: right. Good point. Thanks for the reminder._

Ali puts her phone down and finishes getting her tickets and jacket. One final look over before leaving the room and she's off. 

\--- Ash

As you stare at the picture on your phone, you feel like you are about to burst. You elbow HAO as she is getting her stuff together, about to stand up. 

"So, this is happening" you say to her with a smirk, tilting the phone towards your seat neighbor. 

"Wow, I'm impressed she wants to be associated with you". You just roll your eyes at the response, head falling back to the seat. "What can I say, I'm irresistible". 

You both let out a chuckle as you get up to follow her off the bus. As you turn the music back on, you start letting the pre game jitters fall away as you make your way to the locker room. 

As you go through your game day routine, it's when you are taping your hands and wrists that your mind drifts away to the brunette again. What would it have been like if she was sitting a few stalls over, preparing in her own way for battle. You would have loved if she was defending in front of you. From what you have heard, she was an amazing defender and playing together would have been something special. On the flip side though, you think about tonight and her cheering for you from the stands and having your own personal cheerleader, not just during games, but in life itself. You shake your head to get your focus back but not without a small smile breaking your stone cold game face. 

\--AlI  
As she makes her way to her seat, she takes in what a game day is like for fans in the stands. Even though she is in another country, she can spot USA jerseys scattered through out, "Wambach", "Morgan", "Solo". She rolls her eyes at the last one as she has no love lost for her former keeper and her girlfriend's competition up until this year, mumbling to herself "you'll wish you had Harris instead."

She looks at her ticket again as she rounds the corner and heads down an aisle. Ali looks around as she is moving into her row, taking in the plethora of US kits in this section, definitely made up of friends and family. She ends up nestled between Alex Morgan and Megan Rapinoe's families. 

"You look so familiar to me", the woman on the right says before she introduces herself. "Sorry, that's so rude, I'm Alex's mom", pointing down to number 13 currently warming up in front of them. 

A small chuckle bubbles up from Ali's chest before she helps ease the woman's mind. "Hi, I'm Ali. You probably know me from doing sideline reporting for the women's match last month on ESPN."

"That's it, how fun! Are you here today doing research or as a fan", nodding down to the Harris jersey she has on.

"Actually today, I'm just fan", she says, taking a sip of the beer in her hand. "You know, this is actually this first game I've gone to when I haven't been playing, so I'm kind of excited", shrugging her shoulders. 

"Well, this should be a good one and I see you picked a good jersey to wear."

A big smile comes to Ali's face, it's a smile filled with pride. She pulls the bottom of the shirt out so you easily see 24 in the middle before replying, "I thought so myself!"

They continue to make small talk as warmups finish and the players go back to the locker room. It's when she hears the first few notes of the FIFA anthem that she takes a deep breath and closes her eyes a second, remembering the last time she walked out on the pitch to the same music. She has two options at this point, wallow and take two steps backwards, back to that sad, depressed girl who barely got out of bed for six months or take it for what it is and be proud of her girlfriend. Proud of the woman that has pushed her out of her comfortable but sad life. Most importantly, she could be proud of the woman that has captivated her heart and is well on her way to making every dream she ever had, come true. 

She whispers to herself, "my journey is our journey".


	32. Zero Fear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> knock, knock

Ash --

Walking out behind Abby, you are taking in the atmosphere of the stadium. Surprisingly, you see more US jerseys than you expected, hoping one day you will actually see fans wearing yours. You think to yourself, 'people want to wear keeper jerseys' as there are Solo jerseys peppered throughout the seats. At least you know there will be one fan with your name on her back tonight. 

Getting into place for the anthems, your eyes wander around the stadium until you find, off to the right, a handful of American flags draped over the front railing of a section. You assume this is the friends and family section so as you hear the first notes of the Star-Spangled banner, you squint your eyes as they go row by row, looking for only one person.

All of a sudden, there she is, looking as beautiful as ever. Her hair down, barely covering the top of your jersey. Your mind goes blank as you faintly hear "and the rockets' red glare…." in the background. You slowly take her in, at least as much as you can in this intimate moment in front of a few thousand fans. You are unabashedly staring when you see that smile that started it all, starting to form on her face. You can't take your eyes off of her but you are trying your hardest to maintain the steely gaze you are so proud of. What you can't deny is that the only two people that exist in this moment is the two of you. 

The last few notes of the anthem ring out in the stadium and you repeat the actions you took before the last game. This time though, the intended recipient is sitting a hundred yards away, not a few thousand miles. Without breaking your gaze, you pat the two fingers of your right hand, residing on the crest you wear, the one sitting right above your heart. Before you can turn around and start walking the short distance to wish your opponent a good game, you see Ali do the same thing you just did, leaving her hand flush on her chest. Something is different with her expression as she mouths the three words "I love you" that send your body spiraling and there is no way you can control the smile that is now plastered on your face. 

You finish walking the line, wishing a good game to your opponent, swinging your arms across your chest to loosen up again. A quick step or two up to take the lineup photo, shaking your head to get it back in the moment. The smile drops off your face and your eyes and mind become focused back on the task at hand. The flashes blind you momentarily but then you go off to join your teammates in one last rah rah moment before getting between the posts. Jogging back to your home for the next forty-five minutes, you glance one more look back up and just watch her for a minute. This is your favorite time to look at her, when she doesn't know you are. You watch her run her fingers through her hair before leaning forward, resting her arms on her knees, hands over her face and mouth, closing her eyes and letting out a deep breath. That's when you see it. You see how hard it is for her to be here, but she is doing it for you, for both of you, and in that moment, you couldn't love her more. 

Ali --

There is one thing that Ali knows, that she has a damn good-looking girlfriend. It doesn't matter if she is dressed to go out, causally in sweats, or now, in her uniform. It's not the first time she has seen her in it, but today, she can unabashedly stare at what is hers and she is making no apologies for it. In fact, she can't take her eyes off of her. The first time she was working but to be honest, there was a definite attraction. The second time was on the television a few days ago, but that only consisted of five or six cut away shots during the match. Today, she gets ninty whole minutes to watch how her woman moves. 

She watches Ashlyn take her place in the lineup and start looking around. When the anthem starts, the stadium is quiet with only the section she is sitting in really singing along. That must help Ashlyn find what she is looking for. She watches her squint, as if she is looking row by row and then it happens. Eyes locked, drinking each other in, as the two of you are the only two here. As the anthem is finishing, Ashlyn pats her fingers over her heart, just like she did the other night but now, it can be returned. The best though, is after the emotional day yesterday, she is free to share how she truly feels deep down. 

"I love you," she mouths and watches as Ashlyn's face immediately lights up. That's worth everything to her. 

She sits back down with the crowd but continues to keep her eyes on her girlfriend as she moves around the pitch. It's also in that moment she takes in her surroundings as the team moves into their places. 

She feels a pang, deep within her soul. The ache to be on the pitch sweeping like wave coming upon the shore. 

"Deep breaths, deep breaths" she says to herself, trying to settle her mind but it just starts getting drowned out with "you should be out there, you should be in the lineup, you should be playing in the World Cup in a few months."

She can feel the anxiety and panic starting to consume her, her breath becoming shallow. She buries her face into her palms, not understanding why this is all coming back like this. Was it because they were in Europe, where she found herself again? Or was it because she was sitting in the stands, watching the game she loves. Maybe she was just over thinking everything, could it be that maybe she is just nervous for her girlfriend? 

Whatever it may be, the moment she runs her right hand over the back of her neck, her thumb catches the neckline of the jersey she has on. Her mind goes to what is written there, "my journey is our journey". She closes her eyes, envisioning them lying in bed yesterday afternoon, saying those three short but heavy words. 

"I love you"

Her eyes shoot open and she feels something like she's never felt when falling into a flown blown panic attack.

Zero anxiety, zero panic, zero fear. 

"Ashlyn", she mutters out beneath her breath. In this moment, she realizes that not only has she found this amazing woman that she is falling in love with, hard and fast, she has found someone that soothes her soul. Someone that unknowingly, walks her back from the edge of a breakdown. If she wasn't in a stadium full of people, she'd probably crumple into a ball on the floor and cry. The tears wouldn't be from fear or panic, but from the all-consuming love she has found. Something she didn't think even existed. 

Ali is brought out of her trance by a pat on her thigh. Looking over, she sees Alex's mom leaning closer to her, "here we go", with a clinched but excited smile. 

She returns the smile while letting her hand fall over the woman's hand, with a light squeeze. 

As she lets her eyes focus down to the pitch in front of her, something overcomes her. She stands up, cups her hands around her mouth, and lets it fly… 

"LET'S GO, ASH!" 

\--- Ash

It's a nervous habit, but something you find yourself doing multiple times a game. Standing in front of the eight by twenty-four foot towering goal, you undo the velcro strap on your right wrist before fastening it back into place. This is repeated on the left side before interlocking your gloves and thumbs together in front of you.

You turn around and walk back towards the post to get one last drink of water before the whistle blows. As you tip the water bottle up, you hear it as clear as day, "Let's go Ash". You don't have to try and figure out where it's coming from, you'd know that voice anywhere. Glancing the direction of yell, you see Ali, the only one standing in the section, clapping and yelling. All you can do is smile and shake your head. Man, you got a good one. 

The whistle blows and the action starts to unfold in front of you. The game is fairly run of the mill, you are called in to make some small saves, direct your back line against corner kicks, and yell congrats when Alex Morgan scores in the twenty-fifth minute. Half time comes along with the directive that more goals need to be scored and for you to keep your head in the game. 

After barely getting settled after the second half whistle blows, you watch as Kirby tackles the ball away from Cheney, twenty yards in front of you. Before you can blink, Kirby has gotten the ball back, charging towards the goal before letting one rip from outside the box. You were caught flat footed, you needed to jump up and to the right about a second sooner. But as your fingertips push the ball upwards, you thank your lucky stars as you watch it go off the crossbar. No sooner than you scramble back to your feet, the ball has dropped right in front of the goal mouth. Taylor is coming in hot with Pearcie trailing and there it is, the ball flying past your left side, brushing along the tips of your fingers. As you are face down, all you can yell is "FUCK" towards the ground. Then you hear it, the boos. As you are standing, you see it. 

The offside flag is up. 

Thank God. 

You take a deep breath and get your head back in the game. It's times like these where you start feeling like an animal, prowling your cage. You are fully fired up and ready for more. A few more shots come your way, but the most dangerous during the waning seconds of extra time. 

There it is, the whistle. You won. You got a shut out in the first game with your girlfriend in the stands. You can now erase the irrational fear that you wouldn't be able to be your best. 

As you walk towards the center of the pitch, you shake hands, give a few hugs before finally taking off your gloves. Your goalkeeping coach comes over with a congratulatory pat on the back but also thoughts on what went wrong. You know in your next training, you will work on explosiveness drills, but right now, you could care less. You start wandering over with your teammates to the friends and family section, eyes scrolling through the crowd, but this time you can't find her. Your brow furrows a bit as you make more of a concerted effort to find Ali. 

You hear your name being called in a million different directions, which usually, you are eating up. This time, it's just annoying you. The one person you want to celebrate with is nowhere to be found. As you continue walking closer to the sideline boards, you see HAO walking towards you. 

"So, you know we won… why do you look so pissed?"

Flashing a halfhearted smile, you shrug, "I know, I know… but I can't find Ali."

"Ah, I see. The only important one here", HAO says as her eyes shift towards the fans. 

As you are about to respond, you feel a sharp elbow into your side, "ouch, dude". This time though, there is no response, just the same arm pointing straight ahead. Then you see it. 

ALI - 

When the whistle blows, she lets out the breath she has been holding in for the last 45 minutes. 

"Jesus Christ", she mutters out under her breath. Was this what her friends and family felt like in the stands? She thought felt like she was going to have multiple coronary events during the ninety-four minute match. 

She stands with Alex's mom, who is sharing the same amount of relief, gives a quick hug and says her goodbyes. She excuses herself as she walks through the row and starts making her way down the steep section stairs. A few fans have crowded around the retaining wall but she slots in behind them, only with one row of people between her and the pitch. 

She finds the bright green keeper jersey walking towards her, but getting stopped by her coach. Finally, she starts walking your way agaom, along with the rest of the team. She isn't sure why she thought it would be so easy to get her attention, but here she is, one of many, screaming her girlfriend's name. She chuckles to herself and shakes her head, wondering what she is getting herself into at this point. She is brought out of her head when she feels someone tap her forearm. 

"Where did you get that kit?"

It takes her a minute but she then realizes that the fan is asking about her Harris jersey, "ummm, a friend". A smile forms on her face before she adds, "it's a pretty good one to have, isn't?" The girl smiles and nods, turning back towards the pitch and the players walking their way. 

She sees Ashlyn looking up to where she was sitting previously, brow slowly furrowing. She tries yelling again, but this is going nowhere. As she is trying to figure out whose attention she needs to get, she sees HAO and Ash talking and looking over. Standing there patiently, waiting to make eye contact, it finally happens. HAO does a small wave towards her and slams her elbow into Ashlyn. She can't help but laugh at how pissed she looks. That is VERY short lived. 

Their eyes connect and like any other time they are together, it's like two magnets drawing one of them closer to the other. She watches as her favorite dimple comes into view. Ali wonders how this is going to play out, the two of them in a crowded stadium, in front of fourteen thousand fans, families of teammates, friends that don't know anything. 

But what happens next is the easiest decision either of them had to make. Ashlyn opens her arms and Ali falls softly into her, slowly wrapping her arms around her waist. 

As she moves her mouth to Ashlyn's ear, she whispers, "you did so good, baby. I'm so proud of you for keeping your head in the game."

"You were all the motivation I needed today. You being here was everything."

As they start to pull away, very keenly aware of the prying eyes surrounding them, Ali makes one more request of the fan favorite. 

"Can I get this jersey?", she says with a cocked eye brow.

Ashlyn just chuckles, "one wasn't enough?"

Ali shrugs, but in that instant, she knows she has got her wrapped around her finger. Ashlyn steps back and pulls the sweaty material off her body and hands it over. Ali shrugs her nose up at the wet shirt but turns around to find the young girl who asked about her jersey. 

"Here you go, I might have some connections", she says with a smile. As she turns back towards the pitch, she sees the adoring eyes of her love taking in her selfless act. All Ali can do is mouth "I love you", hoping it goes fairly unnoticed by the surrounding mob. Ashlyn looks back up and her, puts her right hand over heart, pats it two times before turning and walking with of the rest of her team, down the tunnel, out of sight, and on to the only thing on her mind. 

Getting back into the arms of Ali Krieger as soon as possible.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> anyone still here... my once a year update. enjoy :)


End file.
